


Phineas and Ferb's Stranger Summer

by TheCactus



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 120,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26401816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCactus/pseuds/TheCactus
Summary: Phineas, Ferb and the gang settle in for another predictable summer of adventures after P's freshman year, but quickly find themselves thrown off their groove when a fluctuation in the order of the universe occurs. Ep205 is out! "The Dirt!" Phineas and Ferb get into a scrape. Candace and Isabella get into personal issues. P/I, minor F/V and B/G.
Relationships: Ginger Hirano/Baljeet Tjinder, Phineas Flynn/Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz/Ferb Fletcher
Comments: 27
Kudos: 49





	1. No Such Thing

**A/N: First chapter of first actual fanfic. Feel free to criticize without restraint. The idea here is to create an episodic “5 th season” of sorts, with more of a focus on continuity like Milo Murphy. I've always found some of the side effects of the lack of continuity a bit depressing, like the idea that all the main characters are by necessity not allowed to change in significant manners. It's why we only get angry Phineas in specials. There are going to be a couple of OCs, but the idea is to build them more as tools to serve stories then just “additions to the cast”. I had a lot of fun writing this, so hopefully you all have fun reading it!**

**08/19/2020 A/N: An edit has been made to this chapter. In the previous version of the chapter, it was explained that the boys had discovered probability ions during “The Phineas and Ferb Effect”. In this story, that is not the case, and I don't know if it was just because I was in the planning stage when I wrote this that I missed that detail. The edit is in the first block of the story, integrated as smoothly as I could hope to achieve. The two most important details are that they discovered the ions independently and that they never found anyone with negative ions.**

* * *

_**Chapter 1: No Such Thing** _

Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher were absolutely exhausted. The past school year had been a real drain on the brothers, limiting their creativity and free time. They had taken on so many ambitious clubs and projects that they hadn't even been able to get the gang together for a month or so. Phineas had excitedly rang up everyone the day before, the last day of school, to get them brainstorming for the traditional first project of the summer: The Rollercoaster. Ferb, though his blank expression and silent composure went unbroken, was also excited for the summer, though he had trouble sleeping with Phineas' hyperactivity. The alarm clock struck 7:59AM as Phineas sprung out of bed and slammed his hand onto the top with such force he smashed the whole thing to pieces.

“OUCH!” Phineas looked across the room at his startled older brother. “I guess I have a lot of pent up energy. Sorry Ferb.” Ferb didn't reply. “OH! And -” Phineas looked down at the foot of his bed, where Perry had slept. He was already gone. “Huh. Ferb, have you seen Perry?”

Ferb didn't reply. Phineas sat in bed for a moment and then chuckled. “Of course you haven't! I just woke you up!” A slight grin crossed Ferb's face. The two threw off their covers and stood up on their beds. A set computer screens came down from the ceiling with the boy's potential clothing options on the display. Phineas chose his typical yellow and orange striped shirt and blue jeans. Ferb chose his typical white button up and purple slacks. The monitors quickly retreated into the ceiling compartment, and sets of robotic claws came down and took the clothes out of the closet, while another set quickly stripped the boys, arms raised, down to their underwear. The claws put the clothes on the boys, who had to hop a bit as the pants slid under their feet. Phineas excitedly jumped off of his bed and headed out the door, with Ferb following suit.

It was a perfect morning outside, and the sun had already been up since about 6 or 7. Linda and Candace were preparing scrambled eggs and french toast for breakfast. Candace was up uncharacteristically early. She had just yesterday gotten home from university, and her internal clock was off. “Good morning, Phineas!” she exclaimed as Phineas slid down the stair rail and into the kitchen. “Good morning, Ferb!” she repeated as Ferb walked down the stairs and took out some plates. Phineas grabbed the silverware and the two quickly set the table, replacing Lawrence's tea saucer and cup. Lawrence was reading the paper in his seat. Perry was sitting at the foot of Lawrence's chair.

“Thank you, boys. You excited to have another full summer?” Lawrence asked. Ferb gave him a thumbs up.

“Oh, that's where you were, Perry! Seems we were the last ones up, eh Ferb?” Phineas slid into his chair beside Ferb. “I told everyone to meet up in the backyard about 8:30, so we can stay in and eat for a while. Looks good, Mom!” Phineas turned to Candace, who was dishing out scrambled eggs from a hot pan. “And you look excited, Candace!” Candace finished rounding the table and put the pan in the sink as Linda slid a piece of french toast into each plate. The cooks finally sat down and Candace quickly tucked in.

“I-” her words were near-indiscernible through the food in her mouth “- need to get done here and head down-” she briefly choked on a piece of egg, and decided to swallow before continuing. Linda spoke up for her.

“She's heading to the Johnson's to help Jeremy pick out a venue for the wedding.” Linda explained. Phineas nodded. A lot had happened in the three years since they started dating, but he and Ferb had basically known they were going to get married, as it was one of the few things Isabella let slip about their trip into future (“Wait! If you tell us any more, that could change the timeline!”). Phineas had pretended to be surprised and excited when he proposed a month ago. 19 was a bit young to be getting married in his opinion, but they'd been going out for such a long time it just seemed to make sense. Ha! He sounded like an adult. Linda had initially been a bit nervous about it, but she was now on board.

“Oh, that sounds nice. I was kinda hoping that you would be able to join us for the first project of the summer, but that's definitely more important.” Phineas tapped the base of his fork against his chin, as if deep in thought. Candace raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“You're building another rollercoaster?”

“Yup.”

“You kids and your imaginations. Do try to lay off them this summer, Candace, please?” Linda calmly began to clear her dishes as the boys finally started in. Phineas and Ferb had no idea what mom had meant by that. Candace always seemed sporting when it came to their outlandish activities.

“Sure thing, mom,” Candace grumbled, “It's not like you'll see any of it this year anyways.”

“I don't know, Candace,” Lawrence intoned cheerfully, “Maybe you'll finally get 'em this year!” Lawrence grinned at Linda who could only sigh and half-chuckle.

Candace had thought the mysterious force surrounding the boys initially was a supernatural force that hid their activities from any adult, but there were a couple of holes in that theory as of recent. Her forensics studies had not helped her with her obsession, but Phineas and Ferb's discovery of probability ions while studying the performance of Danville High's football team had led her to believe that her struggle was indeed fruitless. It surely wasn't for lack of effort. The boys had discovered that things naturally go right for them. Any football game they attended or participated in (Phineas had a talent for it) went very well for Danville, and any they missed was a loss. Upon further study, the two discovered that the balance of the universe made them luckier than the average individual. They never, however, found anyone with the opposite condition that this implied. Linda left the room and Candace began to text on her phone.

Ferb tugged on Candace's shoulder from next to her. He cleared his throat and, after a brief pause, Phineas spoke up. “That reminds me, Candace! You know how Mom never sees the cool stuff we make?” Candace nodded along dispassionately. “Well, apparently that had something to do with our overwhelming amount of positive probability ions, right?” Candace nodded again. Phineas began to once again tap his fork against his chin. “It's the strangest thing; we were running some health diagnostics the other day and we found that our ionic concentration is decreasing. It's not hurting us or anything, so I'm not too worried, but while we might end up being less lucky, it does mean Mom might be able to see something we do now.” Candace perked up.

“What do you mean, 'ionic concentration'? Does that mean I have a shot at busting you this time around?” Candace was intrigued.

“If that's how you want to put it. Although I do wonder where our ions are going, since the law of energy conservation implies that the energy they did have would have had to go somewhere...” Phineas continued to mumble to himself, as not to lose his train of thought. Candace, however, was very quickly losing hers.

 _I finally have a real chance of busting the boys? Why did this have to happen so late? I'm practically an adult! I have so many responsibilities to attend to, and Jeremy, and the wedding, and school, and... Jeremy._ Candace wasn't sure if Jeremy would be able to put up with another summer of her neurotic compulsions, even though he usually enjoyed it. Deep in thought, she rested her elbow on the table and her head on her hand. She should head over to the Johnson's soon.

Phineas and Ferb had cleaned their dishes and pushed their chairs into the table, leaving Lawrence and Candace sitting at the table. Lawrence looked over at Candace, who was still debating her options. “If you would like me to drop you off, I'm heading to the shop in five. I'll be heading to the Picnic in the Park celebration later today. Grab the boys and head down when you want.” Lawrence got up and looked down at the foot of his chair, where Perry had sat. “Hey!”

“Where's Perry?”

* * *

Perry was actually inside the cupboard at the moment. He waddled over to what appeared to be a wet spot on the wall and knocked three times. The wet spot became a puddle on the side of the wall, slowly materializing into the form of Major Monogram. The man began to speak.

“Glub glub glububglub.” Perry looked on in confusion. Monogram looked around at the edges of the puddle. “Glub?” he glubbed. You couldn't tell what he was saying, but it was definitely a question. Monogram looked over to his left and appeared to be talking to someone. He looked back at Perry, then motioned at Perry to jump into the puddle. The platypus did as he was told, even though the puddle was about half a foot in diameter. After making the tight fit, Perry the Platypus was wet, annoyed, and in the tube system entrance to his secret lair. After making his landing into his orange plastic chair, he looked up at the monitor.

“I'm telling you, Carl! These lair entrances are even starting to test my suspension of disbelief. That last one just... defied the laws of God and man in a way I find ridiculous. And I thought the rabbit hole was passable!” Major Monogram was up on the monitor, chewing out a likely innocent Carl. Come to think of it, Perry did not know who installed all the secret entrances into his home. He made a note to figure that out later. Monogram finally noticed Perry, and looked surprised.

“Oh! I'm sorry Agent P, I didn't notice you were there.” Perry crossed his arms. He was used to it. Monogram motioned to the photo of Dr. Doofenshmirtz on the right side of the screen. “Doctor Doofenshmirtz has been purchasing seismographs, thermometers, and other volcano-related scientific instruments. What he intends to do with it, we don't know, but as always, put a stop to it!” Perry saluted and headed into his hover-car. The hover-car quickly rushed through a tube and shot like a rocket out of the manhole cover in the middle of the street.

* * *

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro was crossing the street, same as nearly every summer morning for the past 4 or so years. As she approached the gate to the Flynn-Fletcher's backyard she was suddenly startled by a manhole cover landing with a clank just a few inches away from her feet.

“Eeep!” She jumped back and then inspected the metallic disc. “Huh.” She propped open the gate and took a look at the manhole cover, not sure where it had come from. “That was a tad unusual. Oh well.” She walked through the entrance to find her favorite boy (and his brother) getting the supplies ready for today's inaugural creation.

“Hey, Ferb. Hey, Phineas. I would normally ask, but someone already told me what you were doing today.” Isabella joked as she walked into the backyard, getting the boys' attention. Phineas chuckled.

“Good morning, Isabella! You excited? I mean, we only get summer... maybe 3 months a year!” Isabella looked like she was about to say something, but Phineas cut her off. “Oh, boy! Obviously I'm excited. You have any ideas for the rollercoaster this year?” Isabella once again began to speak, but Phineas clearly had a lot on his mind. He walked over to his computer desk to order supplies. “I was thinking we could build the whole thing out of metal this year, maybe even take it underground, if we can get the permits for it!” Isabella finally snapped at him.

“PHINEAS!” Phineas stopped talking and gave the girl his attention. He scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, sorry. Got carried away. What do you think?”

“Well,” Isabella began, “I wanted to join you and Ferb today but my Mom's going to the airport to pick up my Dad, and I want to be there when he arrives, since he's been gone all year. You're not upset, right?”

“Of course not! Family comes first, you know. It would be worse if you didn't.” Isabella sighed in relief. Phineas thought for a moment. “I would still like to involve you, but the airport is all the way on the other side...” Phineas suddenly perked up “... of town! Ferb, I know what we're gonna do with the rollercoaster this time!” Phineas put his arm around Ferb and pulled a map of Danville out of Ferb's breast pocket. He folded it out and dotted a line across the entire perimeter of the Tri-State Area. “We'll make a rollercoaster-based transportation system! The fastest Danville's ever seen! That way, we can pick up Isabella and her family on their way back from the airport!” Phineas was practically cackling with brainwaves. Ferb and Isabella took a few steps back, as his rambling became ranting. “Yes, with this rollercoaster, we're going to make congestion a thing of the past, all over the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA!”

Isabella took a moment to collect herself. “Well, we were taking a bus since the car is getting repaired.”

* * *

Perry hadn't quite arrived at Doofenshmirtz' lair, but he felt a chill run down his spine. His hovercar approached the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building as the familiar jingle played, seemingly from inside his own head. Perry tried to jump in from the skylight, but the skylight flipped around repeatedly until finally flinging him directly into a grill. The top of the grill shut over his head, forcing him to look out the smoke vents. Doofenshmirtz slowly approached from the darkened corner of the room, standing next to a large, liquid-cooled laser. “Ah, yes. Perry the Platypus. How nonseasonal of you to arrive...”

“And by nonseasonal... I MEAN PERFECTLY SEASONAL!” Heinz' voice raised as he ended his introduction. “I suppose you're wondering what this doohickey is.” Doofenshmirtz gave the laser a slap on the side. It faced upwards and fired. “Oh, boy. I hope that didn't hit anything important. No matter.” He nodded his head from side to side. “It wouldn't effect most planets anyways. You see, Perry the Platypus, this is the overcook-inator! As you may recall my brother, Roger is the mayor.”

Perry gave Doof a nod.

Doofenshmirtz continued. “Alright, you do recall. So, for the first day of summer the mayor is hosting the “Picnic in the Park” celebration. I figured, what better way to start the summer by just tampering with my brother. No reason really, I kinda...” Doofenshmirtz struggled to find the words “... don't know how to make this 'take-over' material.” He emphasized with air quotes. “The plan is, just as the food comes out, I will zap it with this beam, instantly causing it to become all burnt and gross. In the case of cold food, it will probably just make it... weird.” Perry gave Heinz a questioning look. “Have you ever had a glass of hot Kool-Aid? Never mind.” Doofenshmirtz waved dismissively at Perry as he surveyed the park from his balcony. “The party starts, and then comes to an immediate screeching halt, at noon today, so we have a while.” he dragged his sofa and TV stand into Perry's field of view. “Up for some morning news while we wait?”

* * *

Phineas, Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet had gotten well into their work on the transport system. Phineas was calmly reading blueprints and directing the others operating equipment on the tracks. “Well, if we want to make the circuit by the time Isabella's dad shows up... we're on schedule.” Phineas looked up at Ferb. “You think we can hammer out some stops along the way? I'm thinking it would be nice to go to the park for that picnic thing.” Ferb gave Phineas a thumbs up and disappeared down into the tunnel they had dug as the entrance. Phineas followed him down into the tunnel. The tunnel became a room large enough to house the start of the tracks. Buford and Baljeet were riding a construction cart, building the track as they went along. There was a drill for digging in the front. Phineas walked out on the track to join the two.

“Maybe I should have brought an umbrella or something.” Baljeet observed, dirt falling on their heads. Phineas and Buford nodded in agreement. Ferb appeared above them from a smaller tunnel he had just drilled, handing the three ponchos. “Thank you, Ferb.” Baljeet waved at him. The three sat back and let the machines do the work as Phineas used a tablet to chart the path around Danville.

* * *

Isabella and Vivian were in traffic on the way to the airport. Isabella was staring out the window at the people setting up for the picnic. “You think Dad will want something to eat?” She asked. Vivian checked the time on the dashboard. “We could grab some food at the park with the neighbors.” She looked at her mother expectantly.  
“You know, that's actually a good idea. Sure. Is there a bus going there from the airport?”

Isabella nonchalantly waved a hand. “Phineas told me he was gonna take care of it,” she said, a little wistfully. “So I'm not too worried.”

Isabella's mother thought about the statement for a second. “Phineas Flynn?”

“Yeah.”

“Is going to arrange transportation for our family?”

“Yeah.”

“From the airport... to the park?”

“Yeah.” Now Isabella was confused.

“How?”

“They're building a rollercoaster. Honestly, it's not THAT hard.”

Vivian wasn't really sure how to respond to that. It seemed like from time to time Isabella would imply that Phineas and Ferb were a couple of geniuses, and engineered marvels of the modern world. She thought it was probably just her crush on the former of the two exaggerating her imagination, but she was 14 now, so it didn't make sense to just tolerate it any longer.

“Enough of that, Isa! You're a nearly a woman now, it's okay to be a kid now and then, but this... just doesn't make sense.”

Isabella recoiled a bit in her seat. “Huh? What's so nonsensical?”

“Phineas Flynn doesn't REALLY build rollercoasters, Phineas Flynn doesn't REALLY go to the moon, right? You sound almost like Candace!”

“But... he does! You've seen some of the stuff he's made! What about the massive birthday cake in our backyard every year?”

Vivian paused. “You mean the Flynn-Fletchers baked that themselves?” Isabella nodded as if it was obvious.

“Yeah. They built that laser light show for the block party a few years back, they built that restaurant that opened up in the neighborhood for one night, OH! And Phineas found your wedding ring with those X-Ray glasses!”

Vivian was luckily stopped in traffic, but internally she was experiencing a weird mixture of emotions. “Isn't all that... kind of dangerous?”

“Mom, I have a Fireside Girls patch for wrestling an alligator. You were cool with that, right?” Vivian realized she probably ought to go to more of the girls' meetings. Isabella looked at her phone as she received a text from Phineas: _Almost finished with the track to the airport. Anything we need to consider?_ Isabella thought for a moment, and sent back a response: _Dad's probably going to be jet-lagged. Could you make a slower track from the airport to the picnic? Then we could all eat together :)_ She got a response seconds later: _Eating together sounds good, I'll tell everyone._ She quickly typed out a response:

_Thanks, Phineas <3_

She decided to delete the last couple of characters before sending the message.

* * *

Phineas looked up from his phone at the others sitting in the car with them. “Hey, can we accommodate a second, traditional set of tracks? Isabella realized not everyone's going to be up for the intensity of a rollercoaster, and her dad's gonna be tired from flying.”

Buford crossed his arms with a huff. “Why are you bending over backwards just for girlie, Phineas? If someone doesn't want to ride, they don't gotta ride!”

Phineas gave Buford a disappointed look. Ferb appeared the ceiling once again and jumped down into the cart. Phineas shrugged his shoulders, and was about to say something, when Ferb interrupted. “She gave us the idea in the first place.” Phineas nodded in a agreement.

“Besides, Buford, you wouldn't even be able to build this kind of thing without our knowledge.” Baljeet chided. Buford socked him on the arm. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Bein' right, I guess.” Buford mumbled. Phineas hopped off the cart into one of Ferb's side caves to go start on the alternate tracks. Work continued until they made their way around the town. The boys built stations every once and a while, so there was one at city hall, one right next to the Flynn-Fletcher house, one at the airport, one at the park, and so Candace could make it later, they built one at the Johnson's house. The coaster this time was fairly standard, but people really enjoyed using it to ride to the picnic. It was hard to see in the cave tunnels, so the cars had headlights.

* * *

Candace was sitting next to Jeremy, having finally finished browsing possible venues for their wedding. They had decided on a little church in a quiet corner of town. Since it was near the lakefront, all that was there were a few houses and a nice restaurant. Jeremy closed his laptop and looked over at his fiancee. “Alright. Seems like a nice place. You want to head out to the picnic? You look like you could use a break.”

Jeremy's concern was not unwarranted. Candace's difficulty picking a place mostly stemmed from her vision of a perfect wedding. Jeremy was patient with her and let her be in charge of most of the details. Jeremy stretched as he got up from the table and opened the door to let some fresh air in. He picked up a bag by the door. “Oh, man, what are those guys up to now?” A station for the coaster transport system was sitting right on the sidewalk. Candace came outside and took a look at the device.

“The boys said they were building a rollercoaster. This just looks like... a box.”

Jeremy held Candace's hand and led her inside. They took seats in the cars. “Well, this does look like a coaster car, but how will we get on the -”

Jeremy was cut off when the track beneath them began to sink. A small screen appeared in front of the two of them, with two options:

SAFE

FUN

Candace tentatively reached for the SAFE option, but the sudden jostling of the track caused her finger to slip and hit the FUN option. Jeremy chuckled at her. “Feeling brave today, are we?”

“Not especially.” She gulped. Then they launched off underground towards the park at a high speed, Candace gripping the bar tightly and Jeremy reaching up into the air.

* * *

Isabella and a anxious Vivian were waiting for their passenger to arrive. Vivian was still shaken by the assertions that Isabella had recently made. The passengers flooded out of the gate, and luggage was coming down the baggage claim. Joseph came out of the gate, dressed in a military suit and cap.

“Vivian! How are you doing, dear?” He quickly embraced his wife, giving her a kiss. He turned to his daughter. “Isabella!” He effortlessly swept her up in a bear hug, kissing her on the cheek several times. “Look how you've grown! You look beautiful!” Isabella blushed from embarrassment.

“It's good to see you too, dad, but could you stop crushing me?” Joseph put Isabella back down. Isabella heard a chuckle from behind her father. She peeked behind her father's large frame to see a young boy, about her age, carrying her father's suitcase. He was dressed in a gray sweatshirt and a pair of black jeans, wearing a cap labeled “U.S. Navy Corps”.

The boy stepped forward and offered Isabella his hand. Isabella, confused, grabbed it and the two shook. Joseph seemed to have a moment of clarity and then turned to the two. “Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you to our new ward. Isabella, Vivian... this is Flint.”

Flint smiled at the two of them. “Howdy. It's good to meet you finally meet you two. Sarge talks about you all the time.” He extended his hand to Vivian and stiffly shook with her as well.

Isabella looked up at Joseph. “This is the boy staying with us this summer?” Joseph nodded and continued to familiarize them.

“Flint is one of the boys that served under me on the USS Nimitz during our tour. Real brain for engineering, but he's a state ward, so I offered to take him in for the summer between our tours so I could guarantee him a decent place to live.”

Vivian looked down at the kid. He couldn't have been more than 15. “Isn't he a little young to be a member of the Navy?”

“Yes,” Flint flatly stated, “Yes, I am.” The four sat down as Flint tucked into his luggage and pocketed a small metal pen.

“So you're a naval engineer? Cool! I know some guys that could use your skill-set if you're game.” Isabella started. Her parents gave her a strange stare. Joseph turned to Vivian and whispered in her ear.

“Is she still on about that Phineas kid and all those crazy things she does?”

Vivian shrugged and leaned into his ear. “Apparently, she's not joking. We talked about it on the way here and it turns out they've been doing this stuff all summer for the past 4 summers.”

Joseph seemed visibly frazzled by this, which probably meant it was the least opportune time for one Phineas Flynn and one Ferb Fletcher to show up by their chairs. They hurriedly motioned everyone out the door.

“Hey, welcome back to the States, Mr. Garcia-Shapiro! We've arranged transportation for you outside!”

Before the Garcia-Shapiros could protest, Isabella had grabbed the luggage and along with Flint headed out the door. The six of them piled into the cars, with the baggage in the back.

“Wha- What the heck is all of this?” Mr. Garcia-Shapiro motioned to the complex cave system around him. A monitor once again came down from the ceiling, once again displaying the options SAFE and FUN. Isabella leaned forward.

“I got this!” She tapped SAFE. Ferb looked a little disappointed. Isabella's parents looked confused. Flint leaned back in his seat, putting his arms behind his head, seemingly bracing for impact. The coaster launched at a reasonable speed on a mostly flat track towards the park.

Flint now looked disappointed. “So this is the work of the great Flynn-Fletchers?” Phineas chuckled.

“It's labeled 'safe' for a reason. I can take you on the 'fun' route later.”

Phineas paused for a moment.

“Also, who are you?” Isabella quickly introduced the brothers. Flint shook their hands.

The Garcia-Shapiro parents were still processing all these events.

* * *

Doofenshmirtz and Perry were intently watching “The Dr. Zone Files” when a timer went off on Doofenshmirtz' cell phone. The episode was so engrossing that Doof was startled by the timer. “OOH!” Doofenshmirtz excitedly went over to his inator. He looked through the scope at the tables carrying the mass of food for the summer picnic. He was just about to fire when Perry decided to act. In the time that they had been waiting for the picnic to start, Perry had been making a small pile of kindling from the materials in the grill. He pulled out a match from his hat, and lit the pile. Smoke emitted from the grill. Doofenshmirtz looked over at the grill, which was in his lab. “PERRY THE PLATYPUS?!?”

Doofenshmirtz thought for a moment. Then he began to panic. “That's not meant for indoor use!” Doofenshmirtz went to grab the grill by the handle, but Perry grabbed his hand and stuck it through the small hole in the grill's smoke vents. Doofenshmirtz hand was stuck. “Huh.” Doof tried to remove his hand to no avail. He looked down at the floor and grabbed a wrench. “Too bad, Perry the Platypus, but I can still reach the fire button!” Doofenshmirtz threw his wrench and it hit the overcook-inator. The inator changed direction towards out of town and fired.

Doofenshmirtz looked displeased. He turned towards Perry and shrugged. “Eh, so I missed. What could it possibly have hit?”

It could have possibly hit Mount Danville. What was previously a normal incredibly large mountain was now an incredibly large volcano. Doof looked out at the mountain. He turned his head to Perry. “Alright, since we now apparently have to save the Tri-State Area from an erupting volcano, I think it would be reasonable to let you out.” He let Perry out, who gave him a slap on the face before he dived into a pile of components desperately looking for something to stop the flow of lava as the volcano began to overflow and begin dripping down towards the Tri-State Area. “Well the lake is on one side, so that's probably safe enough, but on the other side is THE ENTIRE TRI-STATE- sorry, the whole city!”

* * *

The Garcia-Shapiros, the Flynn-Fletcher brothers, and the Flint all got out of the rollercoaster car at the park. The Garcia-Shapiro parents were still gathering their thoughts as their daughter grabbed the bags and got outside the car. Having prepared those thoughts, Mr. Garcia-Shapiro put his hands on his daughters shoulders and she faced him.

“Isabella, I know you thought you had told us about all this stuff, but we thought you were... kidding. Seeing it now, I- “ He looked down at the tunnel they had just emerged from. His shocked expression turned to one of anger. “I think-”

Flint pulled the pen out of his jacket pocket, interrupting Joseph. “Excuse me, Isabella.” He put the pen in front of her face, facing her father and mother. A flash emitted from the pen. Vivian and Joseph waited for a moment, and then blinked.

“How did we get here?”

At that moment, Candace emerged, Jeremy in tow, from their station. Candace saw the boys standing with their friends, and then turned towards Jeremy. “I've finally got a chance! It looks like the Garcia-Shapiros have already seen it!” She pulled her hand from his and began to rub them together. “But just in case... I better go get mom.” She sprinted off without a moment hesitation. Jeremy sighed and pulled a blanket out of his bag.

“I might as well save us a spot.” He grumbled.

Candace rounded the corner of one of the food stands and almost smacked into Linda, who was with Lawrence. “Easy, there, Candace. What's going on now?”

“Phineas and Ferb, they built-” She caught her breath. “- a rollercoaster! Again! But it runs under the town and it has a safe option and a fun option and I picked the fun option and I think I'm gonna hurl and there's no way they were allowed to dig a giant tunnel under Danville and there's no way they did it safely and Isabella's parents have already seen it but LOOK LOOK LOOK!” She began to drag Linda around the corner.

* * *

The lava was quickly approaching the town. Roger Doofenshmirtz, who was up on a large stage, was the first to notice it was coming towards them. “EGAD!” He screamed, “Mount Danville, which was not previously known to have been a volcano, is suddenly a very active volcano! Everybody, RUN!” It was at this moment, as the lava reached the edge of town, that the ground beneath it began to give way. The tunnels Phineas and Ferb had built collapsed, causing the lava to spill into the moat formed by the pits. It surrounded the whole city, but it didn't touch anything. The lava was melting roads and structures at the edges of town, but all the people in town were safe. All the people who had been watching the lava flow sighed in relief.

Candace came around the corner, Linda in tow, and looked upon the destruction wreaked by the lava flows. Linda gasped. “Did Phineas and Ferb do THIS?” Candace put her arms to her sides.

“No, mom, what they made was actually destroyed by the lava.”

Linda once again donned a nonplussed expression. “Well, I guess that's much ado about nothing, as always. There's no use worrying about that volcano right now, so let's grab some food and all sit at the spot Jeremy appears to have picked out.”

Jeremy waved at them from some distance.

* * *

“Well, that problem appears to have solved itself, Perry the Platypus. And what's more I can hit the beam again and actually hit the food this time!” He realized there was nothing else around him to throw. Perry then jumped up and smashed Doof's face with a fist, causing him to stumble backwards and hit the overcook-inator. Both plummeted off of the building. “HA! I've prepared for this, Perry the Platypus!” He pulled a string on his labcoat and out came a parachute. The overcook-inator hit the ground and fired at the parachute, causing it to melt into thin air. “Huh. You can't prepare for everything, I guess.” He began to fall at an increasing speed as Perry dove off the balcony, pointing his glider in the direction of the park.

“CUUURSE YOU PERRY THE PLATYPUUUUUUUS!!!”

* * *

Candace was sitting at the large picnic blanket, eating some pork roast with the rest of the Flynn-Fletchers, the Johnsons, the Garcia-Shapiros, and Flint. Flint walked up to her, introduced himself, and shook her hand, then sat back down next to Phineas. She turned towards Vivian. “So you and Mr. Garcia-Shapiro saw it, right?” She asked.

“Saw what?”

“The rollercoaster! That's how you even got here!”

“Candace, I don't even remember how we got here. I suppose traffic really is that boring sometimes.”

“But- but- but-” Candace continued stuttering as Flint leaned over towards the brothers and Isabella.

“You can thank me for that one later.”

Isabella and the boys exchanged confused glances, then Isabella looked down at the teal platypus that had just walked out from behind the tree they were under. Isabella and Phineas both reached down to pet him. They both put their hands on him, but Isabella quickly retracted hers and blushed.

“Oh, there you are, Perry.” Phineas picked Perry up, put him on his lap, and began to rub his belly. Buford and Baljeet sat down with their food and began to chat with the other teenagers. All of them began to talk and laugh amongst themselves. Phineas turned to Flint.

“So what was that pen thing you used on the Garcia-Shapiros earlier?”

“Oh, uh... it was to make them forget! You always make them forget, right?” Flint twirled the pen-device around in his hand and tucked it into his jean pocket. “Enough about me, though. I've heard a lot about you guys, and I'm something of a engineer myself.”

Phineas put his arm around Flint, who seemed a bit startled by the sudden closeness. “Well that's great! You should come over with Isabella tomorrow! She's always hanging with us. She's the best.”

“But I didn't have-” Flint stopped himself. “Never mind. I'll take you up on that, Flynn.” He laid back on the grass as he pulled out a cell phone and preformed a quick internet search:

_Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated_

Phineas, unaware, leaned back and looked off into the sky. “Something tells me this summer's going to be a bit out of the ordinary.”

Ferb cleared his throat. All the teenagers gave him their attention. “Well, with us, I think there's no such thing as an ordinary day.” He silently tore into a chicken leg as the families began to discuss their plans for the summer.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! The first chapter of what I have planned as a pretty extensive fic. The whole thing's going to be pretty episodic, so I'll try not to leave you on cliffhangers. Be sure to review and tell me how the writing is. Updates are probably going to be bi-monthly, weekly if I have a break from school. I'm really hoping to nail comedic timing with this one, so I'm reading a lot of Terry Pratchett. Oh, and for a warning, there will be shipping nonsense, but it's mostly gonna be the canon ones. I'm definitely writing Phineas and Isabella an arc, but I'm debating if I should do the same for Ferb and any of his potential interests. There is a gag I thought up based on an observation a friend made, but it might not be a “story” per se. Just a little Ginger and Baljeet too. If anyone wants to beta/edit future chapters for me, DM me, it really helps to have lots of eyes on writing.**

**NEXT TIME: QUALITY UNCONTROLLED**

**Phineas and Ferb design a wedding dress! Flint makes a friend, and develops a feeling!**


	2. Quality Uncontrolled

**A/N: We return! I told you it would be bi-monthly!**

**Review Responses:**

**Zapadosmaster145: Thanks for the advice! I'm re-editing this chapter as I type with some of that advice in mind. I really like the idea of exploring old tropes through new characters, and that's present in this chapter. I hope to establish some running gags of my own and do a good job of dropping hints in the way Milo Murphy does. Writing this story has really given me perspective on how difficult it is to balance what is essentially 3 plots. I will probably have to write catch-up for the surprisingly large lore-drop that occurred in the MML crossover. It was really cool having you show up, since UAD was a big inspiration and I am about to jump into GoCH.**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Quality Uncontrolled** _

Phineas Flynn was sitting at the breakfast table with his brother when he noticed an article in the sports section of his dad's newspaper. He looked up from his Rainbow Flakes and looked over at Lawrence. “Hey, Dad, can I see the sports section?” His father obliged. “Thanks.”

The headline read: _Danville Sluggers win 14 – 12 at Friday Night Game._ Phineas hadn't been at the game after the picnic last night, but he had seen most of it on TV. He had been distracted by a phone call with Baljeet, so he hadn't really been paying attention. Another small article caught his eye: _Wrestling Tournament Today at_ _Danville Arena_. Phineas had picked up some basic techniques from Buford and even been in the club for most of his Freshman year of high school, mostly encouraged by Ferb, who had gone out for track. “Hey, Ferb.” He nudged his older brother. “You wanna enter that tournament today? I get that it's kinda boring by our standards, but it seems like it could be fun.” Ferb shrugged and continued to eat his cereal. “Yeah, I guess we could find something better to do.” He cleaned his former cereal bowl and put it in the dishwasher before he headed out to the backyard, with Ferb tagging along behind.

The two had not been under the tree for more than five minutes before a familiar face drifted through the gate. “Hey, Phineas! Whatcha doin?”

Isabella approached Phineas and looked down at him lying on the ground. Flint was tagging along. She leaned over him and smiled. “What, it's 8:35 and you don't have an idea yet? Here I thought I could convince Flint here there was something better to do than go to a dumb wrestling tournament.”

Phineas gave her a furrowed look indicating his frustration. “Yeah, that's just it. I liked wrestling when I did it-”

“Did I say wrestling was dumb? I meant it was manly.”

“- but there's no particular reason to just go. It seems like a step down for us. Flint, you wrestle?”

“I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself. We should hit the mat sometime.” He asked with a sly grin. “We seem about evenly matched in the weight department.”  _ Come to think of it, _ Isabella thought,  _ They do have very similar frames. _ Phineas and Ferb's constant construction work and physical activity made them the picture of health for their age, not that she minded.

“You know,” Ferb began, “We could put in a little work investigating that disturbance Baljeet described to us last night.” Isabella took a seat next to him, wrapping her arms around her legs.

“What disturbance?”

Ferb held up a sheet of formulas and notes. “The recent ionic fluctuation is leading to a minor change in the fabric of the universe.”

Isabella blankly stared at him. “And what does that mean?”

“Well the first thing we figured out is that the future is now shifting around at a rapid pace, so much so that we can't time travel without some significant work.” The three stood up as they spotted Candace making a ruckus in the kitchen. Isabella appeared to be deep in thought.

“You don't understand, Mom! It has to be PERFECT!”

“You know, it was just like this the first time I got married.” Linda was clearly unamused, but understood. She motioned to the boys as they approached the door to the kitchen. “Phineas! Ferb! Do you mind taking care of something for us? Candace needs a wedding dress, so we need to get some potential designs from the local tailors.” She quickly jotted down a list on a sheet of paper and handed it to the boys. Phineas inspected the list.

“We might be busy today. Baljeet needs our help researching the fabric of the universe.”

Linda chuckled. Ferb had texted Baljeet earlier, and had just gotten a response:

_Can't talk. Researching ionic fluctuation. I need you and P to stay away so my instruments work properly. I'll join you with Buford later!_

Ferb showed the others the text. Phineas smiled. “Well, if he INSISTS, I would love to help you get a dress! How about it Isabella? Flint?”

Flint looked at his phone and scratched the back of his neck. “Actually, I've got something to take care of today. I WILL, however, see you two later.” Isabella was still deep in thought, and had been still as a stone for about thirty seconds.

Isabella frowned as she finally spoke. “Ionic Fluctuation? Does that mean the future isn't... determined anymore? Wait, what did you say, Phineas?”

Phineas put his arm around her shoulders. “Isabella, we know what we're doing today! We're gonna make sure Candace has a spectacular wedding dress! You could help us pick a design. Maybe even act as a model!” She began to blush furiously at the idea, but quickly regained her cool.

“Yeah, sure, sure, cool. Definitely cool, sounds fun.”

Ferb began to chuckle lightly. “I wonder what about that future you could have enjoyed so much.” Isabella got even redder, put her hands behind her back, and became very interested in the tops of her shoes.

“Hey,” she mumbled, “Where's Perry?”

* * *

Perry was just under the sidewalk outside the house, having squeezed into the rain gutter. He donned his fedora (mostly to shield himself from the water dripping from the ceiling) and took a right turn down the pathway. He stopped suddenly when he realized he had taken a wrong turn, and had ended up in a swanky hangout spot. Graffiti and Japanese weaponry covered the walls, and some dirty couches surrounded a large TV. He realized where he was.

After saying hello to the residents and helping himself to some pizza, he walked back into the sewer system and took the left turn. He slid down a drainpipe into his chair. Major Monogram appeared on the monitor above him. “Good morning, Agent P. You're late! What was keeping you?” Perry raised his pizza as if that was an answer.

“Ah, hanging with those turtle fellows. I tried to recruit them, but it turns out they would violate the Geneva Convention, so I let them continue operating as vigilantes.” The Major shuffled his papers and cleared his throat. “Today, Doofenshmirtz appears to have been doing internet searches on what makes people feel uncomfortable. It's definitely a tamer scheme, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get on it pronto!” The two saluted each other as Perry hopped into his hovercar and launched off in the direction of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.

* * *

Candace and Linda drove by the teens, who were biking towards a fashion studio Ferb had found. Candace instantly recognized the danger to her wedding plans. “Wait a second, Mom. I know exactly what's going to happen here: Phineas and Ferb are just going to make the dress themselves and they're gonna add something weird.”

Linda raised an eyebrow. “Something weird? On a wedding dress? What could you possibly add to a wedding dress to make it 'weird'?”

“Have you... SEEN celebrity weddings?” Candace got up from her chair. “I oughta at least go see what they're doing!” She stomped out in the direction the boys had headed.

“Alright, Candace,” Linda sipped her orange juice. “But they'll probably want to keep it a surprise.”

* * *

“Alright, Ferb, you wanna flip the switch on this one?”

A large blue machine whirred to life as Phineas hopped down from his ladder onto the ground. The machine had a keyboard on the side, a control panel of various buttons and levels and knobs and such, and a convener belt equipped with sewing machines and various other dressmaking tools. Phineas grinned as he rubbed his hands together. He stood next to Isabella as he called the next part of the plan into action. “Excellent! Once again we've made a delicate, time-consuming process into a logic defying automaton! Fireside Girls, are you guys ready?”

The Fireside Girls, who had gathered to collectively earn a dressmaking patch, saluted Isabella and got to their stations. Holly and Ginger motioned for Isabella to raise her arms as they took her measurements rapidly. Phineas reached out for the clipboard Ginger was holding when she pulled it back. “Oh no you don't! We're entering these ourselves!” Phineas shrugged and let the girls at the controls. Ferb whispered something in his ear.

“Oh, I get it. Sorry!” Phineas slyly smiled at the girls as he walked backwards to the control station. Putting his arms behind his back, he turned towards the controls and began to select from a bunch of different fabrics. “First things first, let's make a real basic one just to test out...” He glanced over at Ferb. “... Before we get to the REAL fun.”

The machine whirred to life and the Fireside Girls were delivered fabric along the conveyor belt. They were shown a part of the dress they were assigned to make at which point they rapidly set to work. Phineas and Ferb watched them work and erected a small curtain for Isabella to change behind. Phineas motioned for Isabella to go behind it. “Thanks, Phineas! But how is this going to work? I'm not exactly Candace's size.”

Phineas gave her a pat on the back. “We've got an algorithm that can convert your measurements to hers. Sure, you're a bit shorter, and she's thin as a pencil while you...” Phineas tapped his pen against his face as he inspected the girl. She was mostly still her same old cute self, but she was taller and beginning to develop in certain places. Phineas made careful note of this as he finished slowly. “...are not. But she can make any adjustments she wants. Once the other girls finish putting the dress together, you can get them to help you put it on back there.”

“Okay, I'll get ready then.” She disappeared behind the curtain. Her head poked out from behind the curtains as she smiled flirtatiously. “And no peeking.” she winked at him. Phineas looked a little bit confused.

“Isabella, please. That would be weird.”

* * *

“Ah yes, Perry the Platypus.”

Doofenshmirtz was standing in the middle of his mostly empty lab. A large -inator was positioned on the balcony. He cleared his throat and with great exaggeration, outstretched his hands.

“Ah, yes, Perry... THE PLATYPUS!”

Doofenshmirtz thought about his delivery again. “Ah, YES! PERRY THE PLATYPUS!” He delivered as he raised his fist. “That one sounds like I'm glad to see him.”

Doofenshmirtz peered out at the skyline, watching Perry approach on his hovercar. He raised his left hand and began to scratch his head. “Am I glad to see him?”

Perry approached at a high velocity and jumped out of his car as he allowed it to slam into the back of the lair, creating a massive mess. “Wow, I'm definitely sure I'm not now. That's a massive mess.”

Perry scratched the back of his head as some form of apology. He went over to the mess and began to clean it up. A tentacle came out of the mess and grabbed him.

“HAH! You fell for the oldest trick in the book! The 'Assume the explosive entrance is going to make a big mess so have a creature hide in the trash' trick. At this point honestly I'm just trying to make a trap that doesn't work but you keep somehow managing to find the way to spring it.”

Doofenshmirtz walked over to Perry as he began to monologue, not that there was any other kind of -logue he could have. “So, I'm glad you're here before noon, Perry the Platypus, because we have a fuller day than usual actually. Not only am I trying to embarrass Roger today, I also have a new L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N member to instruct in the ways of evil. He'll be over here soon enough. But, I digress. My brother Roger yeshe'sthemayoryouknowbynow is hosting a press event concerning his upcoming reelection campaign. I intend to blast him with THIS-”

Doof made an exaggerated motion in the direction of his pre-positioned -inator ray.

“- magnificent machine I call the 'Abnormal-inator.' It makes anything it hits behave and look ab-normally. Thusly, I can make him look very abnormal which will ruinhischancesofreelection and you get it.” Doofenshmirtz held a pregnant pause as he suddenly had a thought.

“Wait, if the prefix to abnormal is 'ab' and abnormal means 'not normal' does that mean that the prefix 'ab' means not? In that case couldn't we just use 'un', like 'unusual'? Unnormal. Unnormal. It doesn't sound like a word.”

It was at this point the doorbell rang. Doofenshmirtz shot Perry a smug simper. “Oh, there he is! Allow me to demonstrate. The abnormal-inator, not the prefix.” He walked over to his abnormal-inator and fired off a shot at the door. “BEHOLD! The brand new L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. Intern!” The door began to fold into itself in the center until all that was left was Flint standing in the doorway. He studied the spot the door dissipated into.

“Well, that was unusual.”

* * *

Buford and Baljeet walked into the fashion studio where everyone was hard at work. Baljeet was explaining something to Buford. “You see, I'm just scared I'll ask her out and something embarrassing will happen.”

Buford frowned at his friend as they walked up to the Flynn-Fletcher boys. “Just push those feelings aside. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's a saying. What's the worst thing that could happen?” Buford stopped and, before Baljeet could respond, immediately laid into Phineas and Ferb. “Alright, which one of you fellas had the idea to not invite us to this one?” Phineas left the control panel and approached the two. He put his arm around Baljeet's neck and began to explain.

“Sorry, guys, it totally slipped my mind. Are you guys really that interested in designing dresses for my sister's wedding?”

Buford grabbed Phineas' shoulders. “Candace is getting married?” Phineas gave him a raised eyebrow. It was all she had been talking about for the last month.

“Uh... yes. It's all she's been talking about for the last month.”

“They grow up so fast, don't they?” Buford wistfully looked off into the distance. “It feels like just yesterday we were reforming her from liquid to solid in my full-body cast-iron mold.”

“And in like a week we'll be running a dress rehearsal for the wedding.”

“Oh!” Baljeet cut in. “We'll be visiting my Uncle Sabu in the Himalayas for the next week. We're leaving tomorrow night! Buford's coming to enjoy the cold climate.”

“It'll be like the Netherlands, the land of my ancestors.” Buford explained.

“So no dress rehearsal. Got it. It would still be useful to get stuff together for the wedding.”

“So like a suit?” Buford asked.

“Exactly.”

“Or maybe a date? I could ask... someone.” Baljeet added, nervously fidgeting.

“Well, I guess? People have dates for weddings?” Phineas could have sworn he heard a scoff from behind the curtain Isabella was changing behind. “Hey, Isabella, are you almost ready back there?”

Ginger poked out from behind the curtain. “You can't rush beauty, Flynn!”

“I suppose not.”

* * *

Perry knew it was all over. Flint had seen him with the Flynn-Fletchers, and he knew who he was. This was it. Reassignment. A conflict of interest that simply could not be solved. If only-

“So who's this guy?” Flint looked down at Perry with curiosity.

“Oh, that's my nemesis, Perry the Platypus.” Doofenshmirtz responded.

“Is Perry a common name among Platypi? Platypuses?”

“It's Platypuses, and maybe. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I have some... acquaintances that also named their platypus Perry.”

The two looked over at Perry. He was sweating bullets.

“Though I guess this one is standing on his hind legs and wearing that little fedora, whereas theirs doesn't do much.”

“Hm. Best not to dwell on it, anyways. The human mind loves to make conspiracy from coincidence. You arrived just on time, young man! I've been meaning to train a protege and my daughter just isn't up for it. Come over here with me.”

Flint followed Doofenshmirtz over to the unusual-inator. “Oh, I almost forgot! Mess-monster! Bring Perry the Platypus over here!” Doofenshmirtz directed the Mess-monster to an area by the unusual-inator. The entire mass of messiness seemed to move with it in an oozing, bubbling manner. Doofenshmirtz turned to Flint and motioned him towards the controls. “Check this out! It's meant to make my brother, Roger, the mayor-”

“You explained all of this over our texts, doctor.” Flint stopped him. “If you wouldn't mind, could I make a small modification? I had the idea this morning.”

“What kind of modification?”

“Well, some guys I very much dislike are at the tailor's right now designing a uniquely beautiful dress for their sister's wedding. If I could install a reverse switch, I could waste all of their work by making it a totally normal wedding dress!” Flint began to shake with excitement in his rambling.

“Knock yourself out, man. It doesn't hurt to go above and beyond in the design of -inators.” Doofenshmirtz slapped him on the back, much to his chagrin, and he set to work while Heinz walked over to Perry. “See, this way there's gonna be less one-sided communication around here! It's way more effective to have someone to talk to in a text-based format!”

Flint was already hard at work at his modification to the unusual-inator. He put in a switch, which he cleverly remembered to wire through the self-destruct button as the doctor instructed him, and checked the bearing of the beam through the scope. He scratched the stubble on his chin. “So that's Roger Doofenshmirtz...”

Heinz was excited to see Flint taking such a quick interest in being evil. “It's exciting to see you taking such a quick interest in being evil! Since it's your first day as the new intern, if you would like, we could fire the -inator at your enemies first.” Flint couldn't resist smiling at him.

“Gee, thanks doc! Once I get everything finished, we'll see if this baby works!”

Perry had to think of a way to escape if he wanted to save his boys.

* * *

“Come on out, Isabella!” Phineas enthusiastically rubbed his hands together as she emerged from the curtain onto a raised platform. Everyone turned as she entered a spotlight formed by the sun coming through a window. Ferb gave her a thumbs up. Buford and Baljeet were practically stunned. The Fireside Girls whooped and whistled. Isabella did a little curtsy and gave the dress a twirl.

“So, what do you think, Phineas?” She leaned in towards him from the platform, casting a shadow over him as he took notes. He looked up at her and gave her two thumbs up, grinning.

“I think Candace is gonna love it! Let's get back to the drawing board, and see how much of a showstopper this can be!” Phineas turned away from her as he began to fiddle with the controls. Obviously this was not the reaction she wanted, but as she gave a resigned sigh Isabella realized it was exactly the one the expected. Baljeet pushed Buford's jaw back up.

* * *

Flint looked through the scope of the unusual-inator at the fashion studio the friends were all gathered at. “Yup, that's Pinhead and Skullscraper alright.” He looked around the room at all the others, but stopped when he saw Isabella in the dress. “Y'know, I almost feel bad ruining that dress. Looks good on her.” He then realized that couldn't be the dress they were making, on account of its smaller size. “And I guess I don't have to.” He peeled himself away and put a jack under the unusual-inator, lifting it up off the ground.

“So, Flint, was it?” Heinz started, “What made you want to intern with us at Lovemuffin?”

Flint slid under the base of the -inator with some power tools and began to make a racket underneath the metal frame. “Well,” He said through gritted teeth as he held a screwdriver in his teeth, “The general idea is that I need assistance for my evil master plan, which I have extensively thought out. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

“And that plan is?”

Flint slid out from under the -inator on his roller seat and looked Doofenshmirtz directly in the eyes. “I need to restore the probability-ionic balance of the multiverse by destroying the lives of my next door neighbors.” Perry tried his best to keep a poker face.

“Ugh, neighbors.” Doofenshmirtz waved dismissively. “Tell me about it.”

* * *

Phineas had come up with a second, more elaborate design for the dress. While the original was the basic blueprint of a wedding dress, this one had a long, peacock-like set of white feathers sticking out the rear. He studied his handiwork as the Fireside Girls assembled it. Isabella tugged on his sleeve, and he turned to her.

“Are you sure that this design is a good idea? The first one was perfect.” Isabella had a point, and Phineas thought about it for a second.

“When have I ever settled for perfect?” Phineas grabbed her by the hands and led her behind the curtain, stepping out after getting her seat for her. “Besides, I need the data to make another one for-” Phineas cupped his hand over his mouth before he spoiled the surprise. Buford and Baljeet came up to Phineas in a panic. Baljeet waved his arms at Phineas.

“Candace is trying to enter the studio!” Baljeet practically screamed. Phineas was surprised but did not panic.

“Oh, I should have known she would be too excited to stay away! I want the final design to be a surprise! Ferb, help the others keep her out!” Ferb slid out from behind the machine and sprinted past Buford and Baljeet towards the doors, leaving the two dazed.

“Has he always been that fast?” Buford asked as he looked on in awe.

“And for our part, we'll have to speed up production! Can you girls do that?” Phineas made a sweeping motion at the Fireside crew. “With our machine, you could probably achieve a world record for 'most dresses produced in an hour'!” The girls eagerly anticipated the challenge as they began rapidly working on a series of designs as Phineas quickly drew them out and sent them over the computer.

* * *

Ferb accidentally slammed into Candace on his way out the door. The two fell to the ground. Ferb decided to speak a rare third line of dialogue so he could apologize. “Sorry.” He said in a small voice, wasting dialogue that could be used for a witty observation. Candace quickly got back up, but Ferb was already restricting her access to the entrance. She tried to go around to his left. He shuffled to the left to block her. She tried to go around to his right. Once again, he shuffled to block her.

“Let me through, Ferb, I know you and Phineas are up to something in there!” Ferb simply shrugged at her, feigning ignorance and continuing to block her way. Buford and Baljeet burst out the entrance, hitting the siblings and throwing all of them to the ground. Buford landed on top of Candace.

Buford struggled to speak in a daze. “We have no idea...” His face slammed to the ground as he submitted to his injury.

“...What you're talking about.” Baljeet finished. He slumped over as Candace struggled to get Buford off of her.

* * *

Phineas laughed manically as production reached a fever pitch. At this point, he had made a system to rapidly dress Isabella as the Fireside Girls struggled to keep up. A dazed and confused Isabella was made to model a dress with ribbons at the end of the sleeves. Then a dress with a gigantic turtleneck. Then a dress with saggy sleeves. Then a dress with a full facial mask. Then a dress with five layers of veil. Then a dress with a pair of dragon-like wings. This continued for minutes until the Fireside Girls were exhausted.

“STOP!” Phineas gave the all clear sign from the machine. “This one is even better than perfect!” Phineas motioned towards the girl on the pedestal. The dress was incredibly extravagant. There were three trails of fabric following the length of the dress. The flounce was flowery, and had a triangular pattern cut out of it. The straps circled around Isabella's neck, and the whole thing was designed quite tastefully.

All the girls gathered around Isabella as Phineas stepped up and lifted the veil off of Isabella's face. It was a pretty surreal sight for her, though it wasn't exactly the circumstance she wanted. Ginger and Adyson felt the dress up. “This is some primo work, Phin!” Adyson gave Phineas an “OK” sign. Isabella still showed some signs of hesitation.

“Phineas, I think Candace was thinking something more... traditional.” Isabella tried to get his attention, but he seemed distracted. He quickly came to his senses.

“What was that?” He snapped his fingers as if trying to remember something. “Oh, yeah, she'll love it!” He grabbed the final version of the dress off of a rack and headed out towards the door. Isabella found the dress restricted her movement enough that she couldn't follow his quick pace.

* * *

Flint watched through the scope as Phineas exited the building. Phineas was taken aback at the sight of his friends and family lying on the ground, and was thus a sitting duck. Perry had been too late to figure out a solution. Flint flipped the reverse switch on the -inator, hit the button and stood back to admire his handiwork. “Take this, simpletons!” Heinz was astounded.

“Perry the Platypus, you actually let him fire the abnormal-inator?” He turned to Perry, who seemed to be pointing at himself. “What's that?”

Perry made a series of exaggerated motions, pointing first at the -inator, then at himself, and then feigned fear.

Doofenshmirtz got a terrible idea. “So you don't want me to hit you with the abnormal-inator, because if the reverse switch is on, you will become a normal platypus?” He grabbed the controls from Flint before he could see the results of his handiwork, and prepared to fire at Perry.

The platypus tried his best to hold back a smile.

* * *

Candace finally shoved Buford off of her as Phineas presented her the dress. She looked at Phineas angrily for a second, but did a double take at the dress. The ray had transformed it from the overly elaborate design he settled on to the original design. Phineas looked at it with some surprise, and opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Candace.

“Wow, Phineas! I love it! It's perfect!” Candace gingerly grabbed the dress out of his hands and began to admire it. She folded it up as Phineas began to stutter.

“B-B-But...”

Ferb quickly got up, producing a box from some unknown location, and put the folded dress inside it. Candace brought the two in for a group hug. “I'm sorry I ever doubted you two! Of course you knew what to do!”

“B-B-But...”

Isabella and the other Fireside Girls tumbled out the studio. She finally gathered her courage to speak up. “Phineas! I was thinking it was too elaborate. We should go with the first one!”

Phineas put himself back together and shrugged at her. “Well, I don't know how, but apparently we did!” He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“B-B-But-” All the Fireside Girls struggled to find a justification in their minds.

“That's what I said!”

Buford and Baljeet finally got up off the ground. Baljeet walked up to Ginger and cleared his throat. She stopped stuttering and began to pay attention.

* * *

Doofenshmirtz let loose the ray at Perry. Perry bent his head to the side, causing the ray to hit the Mess-monster. The monster became something decidedly more usual, causing the mess to collapse as a regular octopus appeared in its place. Flint looked at Heinz in disbelief.

“You moron! Of course that was a bait!” Perry grabbed the octopus and flung it at Heinz, hitting him in the face and causing him to stumble into the abnormal-inator, setting the reverse to “off” and causing it to fire again. Flint tried to stand in his way, but Perry flew into him with a kick and knocked him into the -inator. The combined effort of the two wannabe villains flung the abnormal-inator off the building, taking them with it.

Doofenshmirtz yelled from over the edge. “CURSE YOU PERRY THE PLATYPUUUUUUS!” Flint pulled a parachute out of his jacket and safely landed right out of view of the friends at the fashion studio, right around the corner.

* * *

Outside the fashion studio, Baljeet faced Ginger and pushed aside all his fear of rejection. “Ginger, would you like...” Suddenly, a ray hit him from out of nowhere, transforming his normal overalls and t-shirt into a clown costume, complete with makeup and a red nose. “... to attend Candace's wedding with me?”

Ginger and the others began to laugh at the unusual sight, until Baljeet's dejected look caused them concern. Ginger wiped a tear from her eye and gave out a sigh.

“I'm sorry, it's just that... what are you wearing? How did that happen?”

Baljeet looked down and saw that a recurring nightmare of his had come true. He very nearly began to lose his composure when Ginger wrapped him in a hug. “Eh, don't worry about it. Sure thing, Jeet, I'd love to!”

Baljeet felt an odd mixture of embarrassment, pride, and affection all at once. Ginger stepped back and chuckled as she looked at him. “I was already going to the wedding anyways. Anyways, let's get you cleaned up!” Buford, Baljeet, Ginger, and the Fireside Girls all left in the direction of the neighborhood, leaving only the Flynn-Fletchers and Isabella. Ferb handed the box containing the dress off to Candace and the two began to walk home.

Phineas and Ferb shared a confused look as they walked away. Ferb shrugged. “Well, the important thing is that she liked it.” Phineas beamed at his siblings.

Isabella gave a resigned sigh as she once again watched everyone else get what they wanted. Phineas gave her a concerned look. He leaned over and inspected her forlorn face. “You alright, Isabella? You look a bit down.” Isabella straightened her face out as he grabbed her hand. “Come on over here, I actually have something to show you.” It was at this point that Flint came around the corner and spied the two.

“Oh, hey, Flint! I was showing Isabella something, but I think you could come with us.” Flint obliged as Phineas opened the door to the studio and entered the building. The dressmaking machine was being dismantled by the employees. Phineas waved at them. “Feel free to set that back up anywhere you want. Thanks for letting us use the studio.” All that was left were the prototype dresses, boxed and sitting on a table, but there was one extra box, colored a bright pink.

Phineas picked up the box and gave it to Isabella. “When Ferb and I were making the machine before you got the girls over here, it occurred to me that it's your fifteenth birthday soon.” He opened the box and unfurled a magnificent red dress with gold trim. Flint and Isabella were shocked. “I know that that's a pretty important birthday for a girl in Mexican culture, even Mexican-Jewish culture, so consider this an early present. A Quinceñera dress!” Isabella was speechless. Phineas carefully folded it up and put it back in the box.

“W-W-Who's idea was that?” She finally spoke.

“Mine, of course. C'mon Isabella! You seriously think I could forget about one of my favorite girls? I did something for Candace and Mom, so I had to think of you, too!”

Flint caught Isabella as she fainted. Phineas looked down at her with concern. “Nice catch, man!” He leapt off of the platform as he ran off. “I'll go get some cold water and a rag or something!”

Flint looked down at the exhausted girl leaning on him. His heart began to beat a little faster, and he realized he was feeling some feelings. “Oh, boy, this is gonna complicate things, isn't it.” Flint complained to no one in particular. “I just wonder why you didn't have an equivalent back home.”

* * *

Later that evening, everyone had gone home. Candace had claimed Phineas and Ferb had designed her wedding dress, and showered them with praise in front of Linda and Lawrence, but Linda didn't buy it and Lawrence simply gave the boys a thumbs up. Candace took a seat on the couch next to the boys, who were winding down by simply watching some TV.

“You guys really knocked it out of the park today, you know?” Candace stretched her legs out onto the coffee table as she gave a contented sigh. “I think- and don't make me regret this-” Phineas and Ferb looked towards her expectantly. “You could probably handle the setup for the wedding reception. As long as you keep it as cool as you did today.” Phineas' eyes widened and Ferb stared blankly. Phineas wrapped his sister and brother up in a bear hug.

“Thanks, Candace! We would love to!” Phineas exclaimed. Ferb gave a weak thumbs up as he was crushed between his siblings. Phineas released his family and leaned back on the couch, making a sweeping motion in front of his face. “Just leave it to the best party-planners in the Tri-State Area!” Candace gave Phineas and Ferb affectionate rubs on the head.

* * *

Isabella was lying on her bed, stomach-down, chatting with Gretchen on the phone. She looked over at her dresser, where the box containing the dress Phineas and Ferb had made for her was sitting. “Gretch, I swear! Somehow, when none of us were looking, Phineas and Ferb made ME a dress for my Quinceñera! It's crazy!”

She turned over as she listened to Gretchen's response, then went right back to rambling. “I think he's actually starting to figure it out, Gretchen! I've never been so excited before!” She clenched a fist and shook it in the air as she continued. “That's it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask him to be the lead chamberlain at the party! And I'm gonna do it tomorrow!” Gretchen was very happy for her friend, but she knew Isabella to be fickle in getting what she wanted from time to time. Isabella had heard it all before. “Sure, sure, I'll meet up with you tomorrow beforehand so you can psyche me up for it. Don't let me bail out this time!” She pointed at her phone as if Gretchen could see her finger. “Have a good night!” She closed her phone and wrapped her arms around her chest, wistfully sighing. Just when she thought she was done with Phineas Flynn for sure, he pulled something like this and drew her right back in.

* * *

Flint paced around his room in the Garcia-Shapiro's basement as he thought about his plan for the next day. The room was mostly barren, with a cot he had set up, a punching bag in the corner, a drawing board for his inventions, and a few boxes full of cables, parts, and old family memorabilia from his hosts. He looked at his notes and reviewed potential routes of attack:

  1. Destroy Ferb?

  2. Kidnap Platypus?

  3. Ruin relationship with Candace?




He looked down at the name “Candace” and felt a pang of regret. It took a moment to remember that this “Candace” was not his “Candace”, nor was this “Linda” his “Mom”. And he had no clue who “Ferb” was. Not to mention Isabella. She was also strange. Flint theorized that maybe it was their presence that caused “Phineas” to develop into the good-natured inventor that he was today, because Flint was far from “good-natured”.

Phineas Flynn-Fletcher of dimension 164 lay down on his cot and considered his options. “Isabella means a lot to the kid, probably more than he knows.” Flint rubbed his stubble and began to think. “That's it! I already know that Mr. G-S doesn't like the Pinhead, so I could do him a favor by ruining their relationship! Maybe I could even get in there afterwards.” He stretched his legs out as he let his mind wander to the next day's idea. “Pinhead won't know what hit 'em, and I'll get my life back.”

* * *

**A/N: Intrigue! Suspense! Romance! Yup, this fic has it all. Semi-forced character melodrama is incoming, but I swear it will be fun, and not at all depressing. Leave me any feedback you wish.**

**NEXT TIME: Chill Out!**

**The gang try to beat the heat! The master plan is kicked into motion!**


	3. Chill Out!

**A/N: The third chapter! I'm writing a bit ahead of publishing just so I can keep it bi-monthly for now, so advice from reviews is gonna take a bit to be incorporated into the story. It would be very nice to see some reviews, even if it's just “I'm actually reading this” or something, lol.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Chill Out!**

“Phew!” It was 8:15 in the AM, and Phineas and Ferb were already having breakfast. Ferb was showing minor signs of agitation but everyone else was absolutely wiped out. The heat was unbearable. Air conditioning was doing zip to solve their predicament. “What day is it? Summer's just started and it's already scorching.” Candace complained. The family had switched out their typical hot breakfast for bowls of cold cereal and orange juice. Even Lawrence was taking his tea iced. Phineas looked over at the refrigerator, perhaps thinking about crawling inside.

“Say, Mom, do we have any ice cream?” Phineas desperately needed anything to help him stay cool. Ferb walked over to the kitchen, grabbed some hand towels, and ran them under cold water. He distributed them to the family before checking the freezer and looking back at Phineas.

“So no dice, Ferb?” Phineas slumped in his chair.

“Don't you worry, boys. Candace and I were already heading to the grocery store today and we'll grab some. Just stay cool for a couple of hours.” Linda pulled Candace up out of her chair. “Let's get moving, young lady. The whole town's gonna want it, so we better get there first.”

Candace wrapped her towel around her head and mumbled something in reply before grabbing the keys to the minivan off of the counter. The two disappeared out the door, leaving only the father and the sons. Phineas stood up in his seat with a sudden burst of pep. “Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!” Lawrence was so surprised that he dropped his saucer, spilling tea all over his lap.

“AAAAAAAARgggg- Wait a second, this isn't painful, just wet and squishy. I'll be getting the stain-stick.” Lawrence took his jeans off and walked off into the garage. “It's kind of freeing to have an excuse to not wear pants anyways.”

“Sorry, Dad!” Phineas yelled after him. He got into the pantry and produced a sprinkler. He gave Ferb a thumbs up. “Grab the hose so we can start our preliminary cooling procedures, we're making some ice cream!” Ferb returned his gesture and jumped off of his chair and walked into the garage. Ferb looked over at Perry's bed, and realized he wasn't there. He shrugged to himself.

* * *

As Lawrence loaded the pants in the laundry, he failed to notice that he was also dumping in the boys' pet platypus. Perry patiently waited for Lawrence to start the washer. “Honey!” Lawrence yelled. He realized she wasn't there, shrugged and left the garage, Ferb in tow. Perry waited for about a minute until Lawrence came back with the couple's laundry hamper. Linda will appreciate that. After having the laundry dumped on him, he began to rapidly rotate. As Lawrence left the garage, the machine's drum dropped down, spilling a dazed Perry into his secret lair, wet clothing on top of him. Monogram appeared on the screen.

“Good morning, Agent P! We'll send someone along to get those clothes later, but for now we have Doofenshmirtz to worry about!” Monogram directed Perry to the top-right corner of the screen. “If you haven't noticed, it's blazing hot today! I'm actually making a day of it now that Monty is back in town. I suspect Doofenshmirtz is behind this, because that's how this thing typically goes. So my orders are to pack a cooler full of cold ones and sandwiches, and your orders are to figure out what he's up to, and put a stop to it!”

A tube of sunblock dropped from above into Perry's lap. “And don't forget your sunblock.” Perry saluted him, waited for the screen to go black, and discarded the sunblock. You would think his boss would know more about platypus biology. He hopped in his hover-car and was on his way.

* * *

Isabella finally woke up. The sudden early morning heat wave had made getting to sleep impossible, so she wasn't wearing any covers, just her pajamas. She yawned and slowly stretched her arms out. Hopefully, she thought, this lack of sleep doesn't make me grumpy. She got dressed and shuffled out of her room, accidentally stubbing her toe on the door frame. “ARGH!” She held her tongue, but it was already shaping up to be a rough morning. She suddenly was confronted with a blast of refreshing, cool air. Her family was already gathered around, eating stacks of fresh pancakes. Flint was at the stove, flipping bacon and finishing a plate of pancakes. Flint gave her a familiar grin and set a plate down on the table.

“G'mornin' sleepyhead! It's like 8:40, you oughta be up by now!” Joe had looked up from his pancakes. She sat down across from him as Flint took a seat next to her.

“Sorry, Dad. Oh! I was supposed to meet Gretch at 9:00, let me shoot her a text.” She quickly whipped out her phone and delayed the meeting. “Yeah, that heat wave woke me up. Speaking of, why is it so cool in here?”

Flint put his arms behind his head and leaned back in his seat. “I gave the AC a little 'tune-up'. It's running a bit more power but it's worth it today.” He intentionally failed to mention that he had siphoned the power from the Flynn-Fletchers, and that was why theirs wasn't working. “Since you guys have been such gracious hosts, I figured it was the least I could do.” He watched Isabella with a strange intensity as she began to eat.

“Young lady, you can't break your sleep schedule,” Joseph chided, “It's a bad habit.” Isabella's father cared for her deeply, but more often than not he was very discipline focused. The military does that to a man. “And be sure to see Gretchen before you go hang out with the boys or... whatever.” Isabella made sure to swallow her food so she could speak. Flint, satisfied, turned his attention to his food.

“Alright, Dad.” She nodded at Flint. “Thanks for the food. And the AC. That was really sweet of you.” Flint grinned sheepishly as he put his hands to his sides.

“Don't mention it.” He responded, his hand slipping into his jacket pocket. He flipped a switch on a remote. “You sound like you're already having a rough day.” _That meal you just ate has doomed you to a horrible fate,_ He thought as he smiled convincingly at her. _Hey, that rhymes._ She hadn't seen anything yet.

* * *

Perry felt a sudden surge of intense heat as he flew into the window of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. He suddenly felt himself become sluggish as he landed next to Doof's latest -inator, a large antenna pointing towards the sky. The heat made him unable to move, like a sauna that relaxed all your muscles. Doofenshmirtz was lying, shirtless, in a fold-back chair, with stacks of air-conditioning units blowing cool air at his side of the laboratory. He lowered his sunglasses and laughed. “Ah, yes, Perry the Platypus! It's 'ice' to see you!” He motioned to the machines around him. “Having stocked up on these air-conditioners before the big heat wave has made me feel really 'cool'!” Perry gave him a grimace. This was not his best work.

“You see, Perry the Platypus, this-” He motioned towards the device Perry had landed next to- “is the heat-waveinator! It blasts heat all across the Tri-State Area, making it very inconvenient to stay inside!” Perry looked at him with confusion. “And before you think that this is me encouraging kids to not spend summer vacation playing video games or whatever, I want you to know there is evil at the core of this, for you see, I have bought up every single spare AC unit in the TRI-STATE AREA!!!” He raised his arms triumphantly. “Now, anyone who wants to have an AC installed will have to call me, and I will charge above-market prices!” He cackled with malevolence as he daydreamed about being able to stop relying on alimony. He suddenly looked down with his hand on his chin as he realized he hadn't actually put the units on sale on the internet. “Excuse me for a moment, Perry the Platypus.” He unceremoniously walked off into another room to grab his laptop. Perry strained as hard as he could and was finally able to begin inching towards the -inator, albeit slowly. He would have to make it... eventually.

Heinz approached the door to his room, where he had left his laptop, when suddenly, Vanessa burst in. “DAD!” She was absolutely livid. She blocked his way and stamped her foot down on the ground forcefully. “Why did you do the heatwave scheme today? You KNEW I was going out with Monty today!”

Heinz pretended to be surprised as he donned a shocked expression and put his fist up to his jaw. “WHAT?” He said in an almost sarcastic tone. “That was TODAY?!? Oh, Vanessa, I never meant to interfere with your relationship with the son of my arch-rival!”

“Ugh!” Vanessa angrily stared him down. She grinned at him as she left the room. “Well, we had to change our plans, but you can't stop me from going out! I know what's best for me, dad! Stop trying to control my life!” The door slammed behind her.

Perry honestly could believe this stupid scheme was all just a cover for his overprotective nature. Doofenshmirtz grabbed his laptop and sat back down on his seat. “Yes, flop there and judge me, Perry the Platypus. The truth is that today I could really care less about inconveniencing the Tri-State Area as much as inconveniencing my daughter's romantic pursuits. That Monty Monogram really rubs me the wrong way, you know.” He put his legs to the side and sat up, looking depressed. “It really seemed like Vanessa and I were finally turning it around a couple of years back, but I was a lackluster good-guy, one thing led to another... Basically she lost the internship, I came back to evil, and we haven't really seen eye-to-eye since. I just want the best for her, Perry the Platypus. That man is far from the best.” Perry could see where he was coming from. Monty and Vanessa's relationship had always been defined by the tension between their fathers, but while they initially more or less only kept it going for kicks, the two had solidified an unhealthy back-and-forth. But when you're together for years, what could justify splitting up?

Of course, it goes without saying that causing a heat wave as a response to this was unmerited, so the machine would still have to go.

* * *

Candace and Linda were totally unprepared for the large amount of customers at the grocery store that morning. They had found what little ice cream there was left and were now waiting in line. Candace drummed her fingers impatiently along the length of the cart. “By the time we even get up there, the frozens are gonna be melted anyways.” Linda was busy fanning herself.

“Oh! Hi, Candace! Hi, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher!” Baljeet noticed the girls as he got into line, Buford in tow. “I see you are faced with the same dilemma as ours.”

“Hello, Baljeet. Buford. How are you doing? What brings you here this morning?” Linda asked.

“Well, we were grabbing some last-minute supplies for our trip up the Himalayas since the plane is leaving tonight, and now we're gonna be stuck here for as long as you are, it seems.” Baljeet remained positive. Buford grumpily grunted.

“I hate waiting in lines. This might be long enough that we miss our last day of hanging with Dinnerbell and Beanpole. I'd bet they've already got some crazy scheme cooked up to beat the heat.” Buford caught Candace's attention with that last sentence.

“You're totally right, Buford! Just like fate, conspiring to keep us away from that backyard as often as possible!” Candace made fists and put them to the sides of her head in frustration. “Any idea what they're doing?”

Buford waved his hand in front of his face. “I'd bet they're designing a massive air-conditioner unit.”

Baljeet butted in. “I'll wager they're working on creating a snow machine for another S'Winter!”

Candace got more excited. “Maybe they've given up on trying to enjoy the day here and are just headed up to space to get away from the climate down here.”

Linda chuckled. “And I think they're running through the sprinkler in the backyard or packing a cooler full of snacks for the beach.”

* * *

Phineas turned on the sprinkler and pointed it at Ferb, much to his chagrin. “Cheer up, bro! It'll cool you down!” Ferb snorted and shook his head, throwing water off of his hair. Phineas looked around but realized that no one had yet shown up in their little slice of the world. He shrugged. “Well, since we've got a little spare time before we get to work on on the project, maybe we could pack a cooler full of snacks so we could head to the beach afterwards!” Ferb gave him a thumbs-up as he went inside to start. “Bring it out here, so we don't miss anyone's arrival!”

* * *

Isabella groggily approached the Fireside Girls lodge in the park. She hadn't donned her uniform, instead opting for her typical pink dress. She had left the bow at home, as she hadn't had time to put it on. She rapped out the secret knock and waited for her to open the door. Flint had snuck along behind her, and was hiding behind a tree, eager to try out his new invention. Gretchen answered the door and smiled at her friend. “Hey Isabella! Are you ready for this?” She put her fists out in front of her.

Isabella sucked air through her teeth nervously and tensed her shoulders. “I'm not sure, Gretch...” Gretchen splashed cold water on Isabella's face.

“How about now, chief?” Gretchen grabbed her face and forced it down towards her. “You're gonna finally do it today! Why is that?”

“Uhhh... because-”

“BECAUSE you're Isabella Garcia-Shapiro! Conqueror of mountains! Traveler of stars! Destroyer of the barriers between time and space!”

Isabella didn't know where she was going with this. “But I couldn't have done any of this stuff without Phineas and Ferb...”

Gretchen shifted her hands to Isabella's shoulders and chuckled. “What makes you think they could have done it without you?” Flint chose this moment to flip a switch on his remote.

“And here... we... go.” Flint whispered, pushing in a button. He peeked around the corner of the tree to witness his handiwork. He suddenly thought better of it and walked off, whistling nonchalantly.

Isabella shuddered as a chill went down her spine, feeling a sudden spike of rage. She looked down at Gretchen angrily. “JUST SHUT UP!” She shoved her friend to the ground. Gretchen's backside hit the dirt and she looked up at Isabella in fear. “I don't want to hear your dumb pep talk! This happens every time! You hype me up, I let you down, we do the same song and dance every month!”

“What's wrong with you!?!” Gretchen began to fight back tears. “I thought you wanted this!” Isabella regained control of herself and immediately knelt down by her friend. She offered Gretchen her hand but Gretchen quickly slapped it away.

“I- I'm sorry Gretch, I don't know what came over me. Please, just-”

“Get out of here.” Gretchen's death glare said a thousand words.

“But-”

“LEAVE!” Gretchen pointed away from the lodge. Isabella moped away. She turned back towards her friend on the ground but thought better of saying anything.

_ That was strange _ , she thought to herself.  _ For a moment, I wasn't myself. _

She heard the lodge door slam behind her and walked off towards the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. Maybe they could help her find the route of her mental issue. Flint suddenly appeared alongside her.

“So that sounded like it didn't go well.”

Isabella didn't like that at all. She snorted and rudely retorted. “You think? Jeez, you guys don't get timing at all.”

Flint's eyes widened. He never did understand girls. “Oh, uh, sorry. Anything I could do to make you feel better?”

Isabella's demeanor became much nicer at his apology. “Nah. I'm sorry. It's just... been stressful.” So stressful she didn't question why he was there in the first place. “I just want to see Phineas. He always brightens up my day. I bet he'd even help me apologize to Gretchen!”

Flint looked down at his feet as the two began to walk. “I bet he will.” He mumbled as he thumbed the remote idly in his back pocket.

* * *

Ferb was putting the engine block into a large pink truck when Isabella walked through the gate, Flint in tow. “Hey, Ferb. Where's Phineas?” Ferb looked down at the truck.

“Under here, Isabella!” Phineas slid out from under the truck. “Just putting the finishing touches on the cooling system.”

She stood over him as he slid back under the truck. “So... watcha doin?” Phineas slid back out.

“We're building some ice cream trucks to help the people of Danville cool down.” He motioned towards the concrete slab the two had poured that morning. 3 trucks were done. “They're outfitted with self-driving technology, programmed to serve ice cream free of charge to anyone who approaches.” He slid back under the frame.

“You sure it won't seem suspicious? Like, to parents?” Flint intoned from the back.

Phineas spoke muffled from underneath the ice cream truck. “I didn't consider that.” He once again slid out. “Ferb, can we program the trucks to only stop in populated areas?” Ferb gave him a thumbs-up as he fixed the bolts for the engine into place.

“Well...” Isabella nervously began, “I think I need your guys' help.”

Phineas slid back out from under the truck and got up on his feet, grinning. “Finished! Alright, shoot.”

“Uhhh...” Isabella was thoroughly embarrassed. “I kinda lost it at Gretchen this morning when we were talking at the lodge, and I need to make it up to her.”

“Really? That seems so out-of-character for you. What were you talking about?”

“That doesn't matter. Girl stuff.” Isabella dismissed Phineas' prying quickly. “Something just came over me, and I got all mad at her, and that's inexcusable.”

“Alright, but if it's something personal, I don't know if we should-”

Flint clicked the remote in his back pocket.

Isabella once again felt a shudder. “Of course you should! I've always been there for you, haven't I?!? You owe me, Flynn!” She stuck her finger aggressively into Phineas' chest, forcing him back against the truck.

“Woah!” Phineas' eyes widened. He never did understand girls. Isabella regained her composure, lowered her finger, and looked up at his face with a mopey expression.

“Sorry.” She put her fingers together nervously. “I guess it happened again. I didn't mean to-”

“Don't worry about it. Like I said, sour is a change of pace.” Phineas smiled at her as he regained his posture, to Flint's surprise.

 _So why didn't Gretchen?_ Isabella began to think. Phineas interrupted her train of thought by yelling at Ferb. “Hey, can we do something special for the Fireside Girls? You know Gretchen's favorite flavor, Ferb?” Ferb texted Buford. Buford seemed to know everything.

* * *

Buford, Baljeet, Candace, and Linda were all still standing the seemingly-endless grocery store line waiting for their turn at the register, spitballing ideas for Phineas and Ferb's big idea.

“Maybe, it's a rollercoaster!”

“Buford, you always want it to be a rollercoaster!”

“Hold that thought, Jeet, got a text.”

The text consisted of a ice cream emoji and a picture of Gretchen's face. Buford looked at Baljeet. “Ferb needs to know what Gretchen's favorite ice cream flavor is.” The two thought for a moment. Baljeet snapped his fingers. “Isn't it Chocolate Chunk?” Buford put his hand over the other boy's mouth.

“No, wait. It's Minty Chocolate Chip!” Buford texted Ferb back. He looked over at the others. “So, now that we have a new hint as to what the boys are doing, anymore guesses?”

Candace revised her take. “I think they're starting some kind of ice-cream stand, but it will have some sort of super-dangerous twist, like... it flies or something.”

Baljeet raised a hand. “Ooh! Ooh! I bet they're going back to the moon farm to milk the moon cows!”

Linda laughed. “And I'd bet they're just using the machine we bought last year, and wanted to do something nice for the Fireside Girls. They always used to come over during the summers.”

* * *

Phineas was showing off the interiors of the trucks to Isabella and Flint. “And here we have the ice cream machine Mom bought last year. We got a few other machines for the other trucks.” Ferb peered down from outside the truck and showed Phineas and Isabella his phone.

“Minty Chocolate Chip, right! We had it at her birthday this year.” Isabella remembered. _Why didn't I remember that?_ Phineas opened up a cabinet above his head to reveal a stash of ingredients, pulling out some chocolate chips.

“Let's get started, then!” He poured the chips and some peppermint extract into the machine. It roared to life as he got a drum out to contain the new flavor. There was already a bar full of drums of regular flavors, like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Isabella impatiently tapped her foot and angrily glared at Phineas.

“Is this gonna take ALL day?” She clamped her hand over her mouth as she adopted an expression of shock. “Sorry! Again!”

“Ferb!” Phineas snapped his fingers as he began to mix the ingredients with a crank. “You think you could grab the flashlight from the garage? And maybe an X-Ray?” He looked over at an uncomfortable Isabella. “I'll bet whatever's wrong with you, we can figure it out. For now it's kind of... entertaining to watch.” Isabella smiled and laughed. Ferb clicked with his tongue and headed back into the garage.

Flint couldn't believe it. _The nerve of this guy! He just stands there and takes it!_

* * *

Vanessa arrived at Danville beach in the passenger's seat of Monty's car. Their conversation had up until that point been uninteresting small talk. She headed off to the beach house, bag in tow. After changing into a swimsuit in the locker rooms, she was pleased to find Monty had already set up a blanket on the sand. Monty offered her a cold drink as she sat down next to him. He was wearing some swim shorts and sunglasses. “You wouldn't believe what I found out before we came here.” Vanessa shot Monty a sly grin.

“What, did your dad cause the heat wave with one of his -inators?” He emphasized the last word with some jazz hands, making a slightly goofy expression. Vanessa's jaw dropped just a little as her grin transformed into dumbfoundedness. “He did? Oh, wow! He did!” Monty would have laughed if he wasn't so annoyed. He suddenly became a bit glum. “Charlene is going to be by soon, I made the mistake of letting her know our plans for the afternoon.”

“I guess both my parents want to ruin today.” Vanessa groaned. She took out a tanning mirror from her bag and focused it on her face as she laid on her back and relaxed. Monty laid back next to her and nursed his drink carefully.

“I swear, V. Those parents of yours are real pieces of work.”

“Look who's talking, Monogram. It's been like 5 years since our dads have been at this stupid war. Francis' distrust of Dad's 'new leaf' was the reason he went back to evil in the first place.”

“That's a bold claim for someone who got kicked out of OWCA.” Monty coolly replied.

“Your Dad did that too!” Vanessa exclaimed, sitting up to face him. She put her palm up to her forehead in frustration. It was always like this. She suddenly became very sour. “You ever consider that maybe our parents are right? About us not being right for each other?” She curled her legs up and looked away from Monty.

“Woah, woah!” Monty raised his sunglasses and sat up. “What gave you that idea?”

“Repetition, Monty! Every time we get together we can't separate our parents from ourselves, you know?” Vanessa turned towards him as she began to vent. “Frankly, we're both proud of what our fathers do.”

“Klimpaloon knows why, in your case.” Just the kind of dry response she expected.

“That! Exactly that! We're at each other's throats more often than not. It's like some kind of sitcom! Like our whole relationship fits the purpose of playing out the same narrative every week!”

Don't look at me, I have no idea what she's talking about.

“Well, once we get past that-”

“It's been 3 years. Do you think we're gonna get past that?”

Monty didn't respond for a while. He just looked out at the ocean as it lapped against the pebbles on the shore. It was like this for about a minute. Then, he spoke. “I think you're right.” Charlene chose this exact moment to show up.

“So, how are you two kids doing?”

* * *

Ferb plugged the X-Ray into a outlet inside the cooled truck as Phineas sat Isabella down on a fold-out chair. “Well, the ice cream isn't quite done, so we can see about that 'problem' of yours.” He took a popsicle stick and held it up to Isabella's mouth. “Now, open up and say 'aaah'.” He stuck the paddle inside as she obliged and shined the flashlight down her throat.

Phineas frowned. “You don't look like you're sick or anything. Ferb, is the X-Ray scanner ready?” Ferb gave a thumbs-down, as the battery still had to charge. The ice cream maker stopped churning with a ding. Phineas poured the ice cream out of the machine and into the new drum, placing it in a circular slot on the truck's bar. He put a lid on top of the drum and grinned at Ferb. “That will have to wait then. Let's get started! The Phinedroids and Ferbots are loaded onto the other trucks, so we can chill in here while we help everyone cool down.” Phineas missed the snort Ferb gave at his pun as he turned to the controls. The trucks began to move out of the backyard, just barely scraping through the gate.

* * *

The Flynn women were still stuck in line with Buford and Baljeet. Candace's phone was rapidly running out of battery, a surprising feat in the modern age. “Groooooan!” Candace said, instead of groaning. “It absolutely stinks, waiting in line like this. I wish there was some way we could just get out of here so I could figure out what the boys are doing!”

Linda looked up from her book. “You know, in the future, we might be able to send robots to do our shopping for us.” Buford and Baljeet looked at her in dismay.

“I feel like robots would be up to more than grocery shopping.” Baljeet haughtily condescended. Buford slugged him on the arm. “Ouch. Sorry.”

Buford looked up to the corner of his eyes as he began to speak. “Baljeet, while rude, is probably right. When domesticated robots or androids become mass-produced, the effects that plays on society as a whole would be immeasurable in theory. So many new questions about the nature of life and humanity would be raised.”

Linda and Candace gave him raised eyebrows. Linda waved him on. “Elaborate.”

“Like, for example, do androids think and feel the way we do? Are their artificial bodies deserving of the same rights we have as humans?”

“Sorry to interrupt you, but would you like some ice cream?”

Phineas had shown up, with four cones for the four of them. “We're serving some out front, but since I knew you were here, I figured I could bring them in for you. Candace, Mom, you like chocolate, right?”

“Thank, you, Phineas! How did you come up with this so quickly?” Linda took the cone from her son as he basked in her gratitude as she tousled his hair.

“Ah, it was nothing. Ferb and I were just running through the sprinkler when we thought it would be nice to give out some ice cream, since we had all these ingredients for it. So we started carting around your machine, so to speak, and we're distributing cones to the residents of Danville!”

“See! I told you!” Linda grinned at the others as they looked downcast. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom. Candace, keep our place in line.”

She walked off and Candace suspiciously glared at her little brother. “How did you get down here so fast?”

“With the fleet of trucks we built, of course!” Candace's fingers tensed up as she realized Linda had already left.

“You couldn't have said that a second earlier?”

“I could have. But why?”

Candace stamped her feet and clenched her teeth as the others looked on. A low grumble of complaint escaped her lips. Phineas leaned over to Buford and Baljeet.

“What's with the girls being in bad moods today?”

* * *

About a block away in Danville Park Isabella was carrying a drum of minty chocolate chunk ice cream up to the Fireside Girls lodge. She couldn't help but overhear the conversation from an open window going on inside. Gretchen was addressing the other Fireside Girls.

“Just this morning, she shoved me out of nowhere! And I was helping her!”

Isabella heard Katie cut in. “With what?”

“What are we always helping her with?”

The girls shared knowing looks. Gretchen continued. “It's that borderline obsession with Phineas! I've got nothing against him myself, but you guys have noticed it too right? All of last school year? Never any time for the troop, never any time for us! Phineas has gotten in the way of her ambition as a leader and her friendships.” The girls nodded in general agreement when they all suddenly heard a knock outside.

They opened the door and instantly donned a look of shame at the sight of Isabella. The regret on all of their faces was mutual. Gretchen gulped as Isabella stepped into the room and stared her down.

“Gretchen...” Isabella began. Gretchen flinched. “... You're absolutely right.” Gretchen looked up at her in surprise. All the girls leaned forward in their seats. “I've been off-” She looked around at her friends pleadingly. “- and not just today. It's been a weird year for me, and I'm sorry if my crush-”

“Obsession.” Addyson interrupted.

“- okay, OBSESSION, has gotten in the way of me being a good friend to you. And I have no excuse for what I did this morning, I'm sorry.”

Without warning, Ferb walked into the room, X-Ray scanner in hand. All the girls watched intently as he ran it over the length of her body. “Actually, Isabella, you do. That is a microchip, and it looks like it influences brain patterns.” He pointed towards a mysterious, tiny metal object that was in her stomach.

Isabella looked down in surprise. “Is that what's making me freak out?” Ferb gave a thumbs up, confirming her suspicion.

“Well, obviously. After all, as your _dear_ Phineas said, 'sour is a change of pace for you.'” There was a hint of mockery in Ferb's voice. Isabella punched him on the shoulder. He snickered.

“And for your information, that wasn't the chip. So what do we do about it?”

Ginger got off her chair and analyzed the chip's position, making a circle with her finger around the digestive tract. “Well, it's already in the large intestine. I'd give it an hour, then nature takes it's course.”

Ferb left as wordlessly and suddenly as he had arrived. _The question still remains,_ he thought, _How did that chip get there in the first place?_ Isabella and the girls watched him walk off, and she continued her apology without missing a beat. “Okay, so maybe I had an excuse for THIS morning, but I want to make it up to you guys. I, uh, brought some ice cream. Mint chocolate chunk, Gretchen's favorite.” She set the drum down as Ginger went to grab some bowls. “That's not it, of course. I... can push Phineas aside for now. My friends need me too. You guys want to do anything today?”

Gretchen seemed to accept her apology, and gave her a hug. “I don't know, after the ice cream we could head to the mall. Do nothing. But are you sure you don't want to ask Phineas about...?”

Isabella interrupted her as she returned the hug. “There are no people I'd rather do nothing with. Phineas can wait.” It was at this moment that Phineas, Ferb, and Flint all arrived back at the Fireside Girls lodge.

“I don't understand, man. She's been on you all day for little things! How can you stand it?!?” Flint seemed exasperated. Phineas frowned at him.

“Well, she has been a tad annoying today, and I don't like being verbally assaulted, but she's worth trying to help because she's a fundamentally good person. Speaking of...”

Phineas called into the lodge. “Isabella! Ferb talked my ear off about the whole thing. You wanna come to the beach with us to deliver some more ice cream?”

As the girls walked past Phineas and Ferb, Isabella stopped. The Fireside Girls watched intently. “N-n-n-” She physically strained to get the words out. “N-n-n-” Her face was nearly purple. This was taking all of her effort, mind, body, and soul. “N-n-n-” Ferb checked her pulse by putting his finger up against her neck. He gave Phineas an “OK” sign.

“N-no, thank you. I'll be hanging with the girls at the mall.” She finally managed to finish.

“Alright then! You ladies have a nice time!” Phineas wasn't even slightly upset as Isabella walked off. Flint, however, had had enough.

“OH, COME ON!” Flint put his hands on Phineas' shoulders and started to shake him. “NOW SHE'S BLOWING YOU OFF-” He stopped for a second in his frenzy. “-AND YOU'RE FINE WITH IT?!?” As he shook Phineas, the remote in his pocket accidentally went off.

Isabella turned around and made a mad dash towards Flint, jumping into the air and drop kicking him with all the force she could muster. Flint flew back, detaching from Phineas, and slid across the ground before coming to a stop, groaning in pain. “Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry, Flint! It must have been that metal thingy!” She leaned down to see if he was cut anywhere as everyone gathered around.

“I give up... I deserved it... You guys do whatever... I'm just gonna go back to our place...” He mumbled as he got up and waved everyone attending him away, limping back to the Garcia-Shapiro residence. Everyone collectively shrugged and continued in the directions they were headed. Ferb walked up to Flint and handed him an ice cream cone. “Thanks.” Flint looked down at the cone. It was chocolate. He hated chocolate. Phineas and Ferb jumped into the truck. Phineas turned to his brother.

“So, how about that beach? Just you and me?”

* * *

Monty had left Vanessa and Charlene on the beach. Charlene gave Vanessa a sympathetic look as her daughter stared off into the ocean mournfully. “I know it's rough, Vanessa, but sometimes when something isn't working, you just have to mutually decide to let go.” Charlene patted Vanessa's back. Vanessa didn't cry. She had felt this coming for some time. “You'll find the someone who works someday. That's what you hold on to.”

“I guess I loved the idea of Monty more than I ever loved Monty.” Vanessa leaned against her mother's shoulder. “You don't need to worry about me Mom. It'll take more than that to make me cry.”

Charlene smiled. “Since you don't have any plans for the day, what about hanging here with me?”

“Maybe. Maybe I'll see some friends.”

Suddenly, a large hot pink truck rolled up to the beach, playing a cheery song that was popular few years back. Charlene pointed towards the truck. “Then how about some ice cream?”

“Sure.”

The two were the first to arrive at the truck as the metal window slipped open, revealing-

“Ferb!”

Ferb stared at Vanessa, his face betraying no emotion. After a second, he nodded. Phineas came around from the back with a drum of ice cream. “Hey, Vanessa! We're running an ice cream truck today. Here, it's on the house.” He began to scoop some strawberry ice cream out onto a cone, but Ferb stopped him. Ferb handed Vanessa a cone with a vanilla-chocolate swirl, topping it with some caramel.

“Oh, thanks! How did you know this was my favorite?”

Ferb winked at her, and she grinned at him. “Keeping secrets, then?” Phineas gave a cone to Charlene and put his elbows up on the bar and began to enthusiastically chatter.

“It's been a while since we've seen you, Vanessa! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was with-” She glanced at Ferb momentarily. “-Monty. We, uh, decided to split up.”

“Like 'split up' split up? Wow, that's a shame.”

Ferb pinched Phineas behind the counter. “Ouch!” Phineas quickly adjusted himself. “But if it's for the best...” Ferb nodded along. Phineas trailed off and didn't really know where to end his sentence. He perked up again. “Hey, while we serve the customers, you wanna hang out back here and catch up? It's nice and cool! We can take you home afterwards.”

Vanessa glanced at Charlene. Charlene shrugged. “Go ahead. Catch up. I wanted to get a tan in anyways.”

Vanessa put her arms on the table and snapped her fingers. “Open on up.”

* * *

Perry the Platypus was still crawling towards the heatwave-inator, struggling to stand up and reach the self-destruct button. Doofenshmirtz was casually watching him, laying back on his chair. He sighed and dropped his arms to the sides of the chair. “Perry the Platypus, do you think this scheme was ill-considered? Nobody is going to buy an AC unit for a single-day long heat-wave.” Perry looked over at him in exasperation. He wished he had kept his sunscreen. As if on cue, Doofenshmirtz poured sunscreen out onto his skin, slathering it on every inch of exposed skin. He casually walked over the the heatwave-inator and flipped the “off” switch. Perry laid there, looking up at Doof with contempt as his body returned to its original temperature. “What? I foiled myself this time, big whoop. My evil plan was to get a nice tan for the summer.” Heinz shrugged and felt a sudden burning sensation in his shoulders. “ACK!”

Running up his entire body was not a nice tan, but the worst sunburn Perry had ever seen. “I guess I beat myself up too.” He sighed and winced as pain shot through his body again. Perry began to slowly get up. Heinz looked down at him. “Well, I'm sorry I wasted your time today, but I'll probably have something better to make tomorrow. Is that okay, Perry the Platypus?” Perry walked over to Doofenshmirtz and simply put his hand on Doof's right leg.

“AAAAAAAARGH! Curse you, Perry the Platypus!” Doofenshmirtz tensed as he ran off, presumably to prepare a cool bath.

* * *

Vanessa was leaning up against the wall in the refrigerated truck, listening to Phineas ramble on about his and Ferb's exploits, occasionally getting a word in. Ferb gave her a knowing look and snickered.

“... I got into some contact sports, Ferb got really into athletics, and, gee, I think the two of us possess more combined skill now than any pair of brothers in the entire world at this point!”

Vanessa and Ferb laughed.

“Right, Ferb turned 16 back in February, and I'm turning 15 in a month or so, so you're turning 20 soon? How's that?”

Vanessa looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. “Well, it seems to be a new 'phase' of life for me. Gotta make some changes. Focus on me for a bit.”

Phineas gave her a sympathetic look. “It seems like everything is changing these days. It's too bad about you and Monty-” Ferb shot him a glare and motioned towards Vanessa with his eyes. “- But maybe that's for the better.” Phineas looked actively confused at this point, but Ferb gave him a wink indicating he had said the right thing. “There's always more fish in the sea.”

Ferb took a bite out of his sea-salt ice cream cone and gave Vanessa a thumbs-up. She snickered at him and put her arms behind her back. “I must admit it's freeing. I can just relax for a bit, you know?”

“Well, if you ever want to have some fun, you know where to find us!”

“Actually, I don't. And, uh, aren't you a little young to be hanging out with a 19 year old girl?”

“Of course not.” Ferb cut in. He quickly pulled a notepad out of his pocket, wrote a phone number and an address down on it, tore the paper and gave it to Vanessa. “That's my phone. Feel free to call anytime.”

“Yeah, he'll talk your ear off if you let him!” Phineas joked. Vanessa took the note and shoved it into her back pocket. She looked out the window to see the DEI building, complete with the roughly painted on “Evil” from when her father had added it back to the building.

Vanessa got up. “This is my place.”

“Don't worry, we remember.” Phineas assured her. Ferb was already typing some instructions into the computer. The trio stopped outside the tower, and Vanessa got out. “Thanks for the ride, guys! I'll be sure to come by and see you sometime. Oh, and the heatwave should be over very shortly, I'm going to have a talk with someone.” She headed towards the door.

Ferb closed the back door and let out a prolonged sigh. “You think I have a shot now?” Phineas once again donned a confused look.

“A shot at what?”

* * *

Perry felt that Heinz had invalidated his effort by thwarting himself. Frustrated, He leaned up against the Heatwave-inator. Suddenly, it started to tilt. The supports holding up the machine had slowly melted due to the heat radiating from the machine. Perry desperately tried to stop it as it tumbled over the edge, right over the unsuspecting teenagers below...

* * *

* * *

SMAAAAAAASH!

“EEP!” Phineas leapt into Ferb's arms as a mysterious machine landed right next to them, hitting an unmarked van and nearly smashing them. Vanessa turned back. Phineas gave Ferb an awkward look, and Ferb dropped him to the ground with a thud.

“Oh, my gosh! Are you guys alright?”

“We're fine. Just- uh- a bit frightened.”

Ferb looked down at a pale-faced Phineas. “Actually, it may have been you who was frightened.” Vanessa mumbled something and angrily walked back into DEI.

Phineas dusted himself off as he got off the ground. “Hey, Ferb, isn't it lucky that none of our inventions have been destroyed while we were inside it?”

Ferb thought about it for a moment.

“Well, now that it looks like this one's actually survived the events of a day, you think we could set it to automatically travel Danville and deliver ice cream for the rest of the summer? At least until it does get 'culled' so to speak?” Phineas enhanced the word with air quotes.

Ferb gave him a thumbs up and started typing away at the controls.

“Yeah, we can upload a more advanced AI for restocking and refueling tonight. I think with the other three we could just send them off to go wherever, nobody's going to object to free ice cream.”

Ferb nodded in agreement. He felt something rub up against his leg and he glanced downwards. “Oh, there you are Perry.”

* * *

Isabella was at the mall with her friends drinking milkshakes. She looked around at the glowing faces of her troupe with satisfaction. It was great to get away, she had to admit, from all the stress and neuroses that Phineas' presence created in her mind. She happily gulped down the last of her mint-Oreo shake. Gretchen was going on about potential plans for the coming summer, but they all seemed a bit boring to her.

“Gretch, you know, it feels like we used to be more ambitious in our activities.” Everyone turned to Isabella.

“Well, without our fearless leader around, what could we get up to?”

“Hey, you don't have to rub it in. I'm going through some changes right now, and you all know what I'm talking about. All this... teenage stuff.“ All the girls awkwardly rubbed the backs of their heads in understanding. Isabella's eyes shot wide open and she suddenly jumped up on the table with excitement. The table shook and all the girls rushed to steady their cups. “Ambitious! What could be more ambitious than a world first?”

All the girls looked up at her in confusion. “What potential for a 'world first' is in Danville? And don't drag us to Phineas' backyard again.” Addyson shot suspiciously.

“You guys remember the picnic the other day? How Mount Danville, which was previously unknown to be a volcano, is now an active volcano?”

“I don't follow.”

“We could scale it!”

All the girls oohed simultaneously. The idea was quickly agreed upon. Gretchen put her arm around Isabella's shoulder and laughed. “Girls, I know what we're gonna do tomorrow!” A cheer erupted from around the table.

“Could you ladies get off the tables? I just cleaned those.” Coltrane called from behind the counter.

“Sorry, Coltrane.” Isabella and Gretchen got off the tables and sat back down.

* * *

Phineas and Ferb got dropped off by the ice cream truck and sent it on it's way just as Linda's car rolled into the driveway. Phineas waved at it. “Yeah, I know it doesn't have a consciousness, or personification, but I would like to think of every one of our creations as our baby.”

Ferb gave him a disgusted look, but was saved by Linda and Candace's arrival. Linda was carrying a tub of ice cream, having just missed the chance to see the truck. “That took a while to finally get, but are you guys ready for some ice cream?”

Phineas smiled at his mom. “Maybe later, Mom. I've already had my fill of ice cream for today. Uh, thank you though.” Ferb nodded in agreement. Linda sighed. At least the boys were polite.

“Well, if you need us, we'll be stretching our legs out on the coffee table and watching a movie.” Linda yawned and headed inside, followed by Candace.

“You don't have to tell me twice. I'm just grateful that it got cooler.”

**A/N: Boy, this stuff is a lot of fun to write. It's getting late so I'll keep it brief, but I'm thinking of just updating ASAP from now on. Keeping myself to a schedule helps consistency, but I do like putting this stuff out for whenever y'all want to read it. I wrote this chapter on the assumption Ferb is 12 in the original series, because otherwise any mutual attraction to Vanessa comes off as strange. My brain is cool with a 3.5 year gap, so it was really just to give myself some peace of mind. Putting the characters at these ages was also was very convenient because it is the period during which it's implied the friends kind of split up during AYA, and around when the characters hit puberty, so I think the way relationships naturally change is interesting to write about. All I can say is that the timeline changes, and things don't end up the way they did. Until next time!**

**Next Time: Friend-Trip**

**The Fireside Girls climb a volcano! Phineas and Ferb experience engine trouble! Flint and Doof concoct a charismatic** **coup!**


	4. Friend-Trip

**A/N: Back again! As you can kinda tell, I'm trying to lay down hints towards future events in these chapters, and trying to establish some running gags. I am exceedingly glad to see some follows and some favorites. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. This is the last chapter I have typed up ahead of schedule, but I'm already five pages deep in the next one, so it will definitely be out on time. College, man. Plus I moved back in with my family due to Covid-19 so I can't get as much privacy for writing. Just know if I can't continue writing for whatever reason, I will announce it.**

**Thanks for the review, Blinder! It is very nice to see an interest in this thing. Made me smile.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Friend-Trip**

“ _I know what we're gonna do today!_ ” The alarm blared at 8:00 as sun began to pour through Isabella's bedroom window. Isabella arose from bed with a yawn and immediately hopped out of bed and to work on preparations for the day's project: Hiking the volcanic Mt. Danville with the Fireside Girls. She got into the closet, fetching a backpack, her uniform, and hiking boots. She happily hummed a tune (Gitchee-Gitchee Goo, if you were wondering) as she turned on a hot shower.

Flint passed from outside, mulling over recent events. He had elected to not surprise the family with breakfast this morning, and was as such pleased to find Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro had already prepared some burritos. He took a plate, thanked his host, grabbed a toasted bagel, and sat down at the across from Joseph, who was going over the morning paper.

“So, how are you enjoying your stay here so far, Flint?” Vivian set her breakfast down at the table's end. “It must be kind of difficult to adjust to life here in the States after being away for so long.”

Flint held up his hand until he was done chewing, then, with a satisfied mmmm, he responded. “Sure is, but I can handle it. It's like, uh, riding a bike. You never forget some things.” He snapped his fingers to jog his memory. “The neighborhood seems alright. Seems like life has an invisible rhythm about it around here.”

There was a squeak from the showerhead as Isabella got out. “And on cue, the first verse.” Joseph chuckled to himself. Isabella entered the room and grabbed breakfast, still a bit wet. She had a large backpack in her right arm, and she set it on the seat beside her as she sat down. She licked her lips and dug in to the meal. “So, what's the plan for today, young lady?”

“I'm hiking Mount Danville.” She kept it short as her mind was on the delicious blend of sausage (beef) and cheese. She quickly took another bite.

“With that Phineas kid?”

“Nah, the Fireside Troop. We're gonna be the first ones to reach the peak after the volcanic eruption. Got all the equipment right here.” She patted the bag underneath her seat. “No help from Phineas or Ferb today, we're going old fashioned.”

“Isn't that kind of dangerous?” Vivian looked a bit worried.

“Don't worry about it. She's got a good head on her shoulders, Viv.” Joe set aside his paper as Isabella grabbed a plate for him, too. “Thank you, darling.”

Flint also looked a bit worried. “Mount Danville? Isn't that kind of an active volcano? Today? Specifically?”

Isabella grinned at him as she pulled a large pink heat suit out of the bag. “Alright, maybe I was exaggerating when I said 'old-fashioned'. Technically Phineas did make me this last time we did something similar, but the others had to get heat suits made.”

“Made?” Joseph muttered under his breath. Isabella didn't catch it.

“Isa, you actually intend to climb an active volcano?” Vivian was now significantly more worried.

“Eh, don't spoil her mood. She'll get as far as she can, then turn back. Right, Isabella?” Joseph wasn't about to discourage her from doing something fun with her friends, especially something that would push her physical limits. Not to mention his general disdain for Phineas Flynn.

“I guess.” Isabella shrugged and put the suit back into the backpack as she finished eating. Flint looked down at his plate. Either he ate like a mouse or she had the appetite of a wolf. “Thanks, mama!” She slung her backpack over her shoulder and kissed her dad on the cheek on the way out. “Have a good day, papa!”

_Well, this is no good for today, but I can't back out on Heinz now._ Flint slipped off to his room as he started to make some modifications to his plan for today.

Joseph looked up from his newspaper. “Flint? Hey, where'd the boy go?”

* * *

Flint walked into his room and pressed a hidden button underneath his cot. The cot opened on a hinge to reveal a secret slide underneath the floor. With no hesitation, he dove down the plastic tube. He slid down for about 5 seconds before being ejected into a chair in the middle of a state-of-the-art secret lair. The walls were mostly barren, as he hadn't had time to prepare any weapons as of yet, but there was a large generator and a larger monitor in front of it. He looked up to the screen as the unmistakable image of Heinz Doofenshmirtz appeared.

“Good morning, Flint. Today we're going to meet up at the secret volcanic hideout in Mount Danville.”

“Yessir. I've got us a plan for this afternoon that practically guarantees a takeover of the entire Tri-State Area!”

“Excellent!” Doofenshmirtz rubbed his hands together. “This briefing seems pointless, but it feels kinda good to do. I get why Francis digs it so much.”

Flint and Doofenshmirtz saluted each other, and Flint jumped onto a hover-board, shooting off into an underground tunnel to the Danville sewers.

* * *

Isabella wasn't two steps out the door when she bumped violently into Phineas. She almost fell to the ground, but Phineas managed to grab her by the arm and pull her up. He began to rub his nose. “Ouch!” He put his hand down and let go of hers. “Are you alright? Sorry about that.”

“Oh, no, I'm fine. What brings you here?”

“I was just wondering... whatcha doin? Ferb wanted to sleep in.” Phineas put his arms behind his back and smiled at her. She felt really bad having to turn him down.

Isabella sighed. “Phineas, any other day I would have loved to hang out with you, believe me, but I promised the girls I would go on a hike with them.”

“Heh. Yeah, that makes sense. I bet their jealous I'm stealing the precious time of their fearless leader.” Phineas grinned and elbowed her ribs. Isabella tried her best to not blush, but even if he never really meant it, he really was becoming more a flirt as of recent. Phineas had a sudden idea, and his face reflected it.

“You guys need any equipment? Ooh, I could make some magnetizing boots or a grappling hook, or a... portable bridge!” He looked like a kid on Christmas day.

“We've already got everything we need. Part of the challenge we're undertaking is keeping it as traditional as possible. Except for the heat suits, but we already have those.”

Phineas wondered what they could need heat suits for on a hike, but chose not to press the girl for any further information. “Alright, I'll wait for Ferb to get up and we'll have something to do in no time. Have fun!” He waved as he walked off.

Roughly five minutes later, after Isabella had already long since left for the lodge, a familiar catchphrase could be heard over the Flynn-Fletcher's fence.

* * *

Flint arrived at the base of the new Mount Danville, by the shore of Badbeard Lake. He uncovered a secret door behind a few bushes and put his hand up to the biometric scanner. The scanner beeped happily and the door slid to the left so he could enter a large tube-shaped elevator. He waited for a few seconds in the elevator as a tune droned on in the background. The elevator opened and he stepped out. Suddenly, the PA system erupted to life. “ _DOOFENSHMIRTZ EVIL INCORPORATED!_ ” He winced as the loud noise surprised him. Heinz stepped out from behind a console, wearing a welding mask. He flipped it upwards and waved at his protege.

“Hey, kiddo! You like the theme tune? I noticed you hadn't put one in, so I took the liberty of installing my own. You should come up with your own, you know. It's not really an evil lair without a trademark, you know.”

Flint nodded in agreement. With this guy's knowledge, he was sure to go from small-time villainy to tyrannical dictator in no time. He went for his pen and notepad to make a note, but he realized his pen was missing. Unfortunate, since that meant he also wasn't able to access the memory erase function if one of the girls stumbled upon this base.

“Yeah, I like it. On another note, I'm sure you're wondering what I made for today's scheme! BEHOLD-”

Doofenshmirtz raised a hand motioning him to be quiet. “If you reveal the plan to me right now, it won't be nearly as surprising when you reveal it to Perry the Platypus later.”

He was right. This man was full of old-timer wisdom. Flint waltzed casually over to a console on the right side of the room, setting his hand on the controls as he looked at the time on his phone and pulled up some social media to pass the time. Doofenshmirtz began to pace around, tapping his foot impatiently.

* * *

About five minutes after Flint, the Fireside Girls arrived at the base of the new Mount Danville, by the shore of Badbeard Lake. They looked up in awe at the new geological formations caused by the earlier volcanic eruption. The rocks were the color of white ash, and much of the flora was charred husks, though new growth was just beginning to poke through the ash. Addyson whipped out a cell phone and began to take pictures.

“Wow, this place is beautiful!”

Isabella pointed towards the lake on the right side of the mountain. It was full of ash, and the shore was covered in trash buried in the remains of the volcanic eruption. “I don't think so, personally. It looks like since the eruption, the Badbeard Lake's been used as a dumping ground for trash on top of already being covered in ash! Gosh, it's a mess!”

“One project at a time, sister!” Ginger reassured Isabella. “Besides, the city government is probably taking care of it as we speak.”

This was false.

Isabella was satisfied, so she turned to the girls and began to brief them on the day's activity. “Alright, ladies! Since Mount Danville has become volcanic, no one has recorded a party expedition to the mountain's peak! Today... we intend to claim that honor for Fireside Girls Troop 46231!” She raised her fist at the sky and it was quickly imitated by the rest of the hiking party.

Gretchen produced a checklist from her backpack. “Okay, first order of business is...” She clicked a pen and pointed it towards the paper- “The list! I can see you all have your uniforms and boots so... Heat suits!”

All the girls produced their heat suits.

“Rope!”

Isabella grabbed the rope out of her backpack. “Check!”

“Stakes!”

Addyson produced some wooden stakes from her sack. “Ready!”

“Harnesses!”

Katie handed out the harnesses to the girls and attached one above her skirt.

“Hooks!”

“Uh, they're already on the ends of the ropes.” Isabella showed Gretchen the length of rope. Gretchen finished checking the list.

The girls were practically skipping as they began what was to be a long and arduous trek up a long and arduous path.

* * *

About five minutes after the Fireside Girls, Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher arrived at the base of the new Mount Danville, by the shore of Badbeard Lake. Phineas put his arm around his brother's shoulder and motioned outwards towards the ruined shore of the once clean Badbeard Lake. “You were right, Ferb! This place is a disaster area! I'm glad you urged me so forcefully to come take care of it. I'd bet the city government hasn't even made an effort to get this cleaned!”

This was true.

“But man, you just wouldn't shut up about it!” Phineas motioned over to the ice cream truck they had made yesterday, which Phineas had enlisted to carry an assortment of tools. “And I'm surprised that the ice cream truck is still going. That's nice, since we don't have to enlist Mom or Candace to help us out with this one.”

“God knows if Mom ever caught us cleaning a lake, we would be busted.” Ferb snorted as Phineas pulled a small two-seater hovercraft out of the back of the truck. The truck was outfitted with a water filtration system so it could catch garbage and store it in a hard plastic cylinder, which would then be transferred into the large plastic bags that the two had brought. There were several spear-like fixations that could extend out as claws to pick trash up off of the shore, complete with a targeting system.

Phineas rubbed his hands together with a manic smile. “Let's get to work, bro!”

* * *

Perry the Platypus descended into the volcanic chamber in a helicopter backpack, releasing his harness and dropping to the floor with a dramatic combat roll... Directly onto a giant red X in the middle of the floor. A trapdoor opened up above Perry, burying him in volcanic ash. He struggled to keep his bill above the pileup, but managed to keep his head poking out. Doofenshmirtz turned to his charge. “See, that's villain lesson one: If there is a giant red X on the floor, the hero will most certainly land on it.”

“Ah! Like Chekhov's Gun!” Flint's eyes lit up. Doofenshmirtz stared at him blankly. He realized the doctor might not know what 'Chekhov's Gun' meant. “Chekhov's Gun is a principle in storytelling, usually film, that if something is demonstrated or pointed out in an act of a story, it must be relevant in the following act.”

“But why call it a 'Gun'?”

“Because the creator of the principle, Anton Chekhov, says 'If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter, it absolutely must go off.'”

“You just knew that quote off the top of your head?”

“Yes.”

Doofenshmirtz glared at Flint in annoyance. “You're a nerd, you know that? You'll have to work on your image if you want to be nearly as threatening as I am.”

Flint hadn't considered this. Perry chattered at the dysfunctional pair. “Oh, right!” Flint stopped thinking about how much of a nerd he was because he had a job to do. That job was to introduce his evil plan, following the example of his teacher. “Perry the Platypus! You may be wondering, what is this marvelous device over here?” Flint motioned towards a laser suspended above them in the crater formation of the volcano. “BEHOLD! The Charismatron!”

A dramatic sting played over the PA system. Doofenshmirtz and Flint both looked at each other, thinking the other had installed it. Flint regained his posture and continued. “As you may know, the current mayor, Roger Doofenshmirtz, is a powerhouse of natural charisma and persuasion! This machine was made to 'redistribute the traits' so to speak. I will steal his charisma, add it to my own, and gather a mob of loyal followers for my own successful takeover of the TRI-STATE AREA!” He raised his fists to the sky. Man, he was absolutely nailing it. “It, uh... just has to warm up first.”

* * *

The Fireside Girls were making excellent headway up the mountain. Each had brought plenty of water, and the girls had convinced Katie (begrudgingly) to share some of her granola bars.

“I just don't get why you couldn't bring your own snacks!”

“C'mon, Kate,” Addyson nudged her friend, “We only brought enough food for lunch! Our heat suits were too big to fit along with snacks.” Kate's below-average size had made her heat suit a lot easier to pack, plus her backpack was bigger than everyone elses.

“I was going to make it a surprise, but I actually made us some of my mom's burritos and wrapped them in foil to cook on top of the mountain. She taught me the secret recipe last night.” Isabella boasted.

“With the sweet corn and the black beans?” Ginger seemed eager. Before the girls lay a large wall of solid rock, and it looked to be about two Isabellas (The tallest among them) in height.

“Yup!” Isabella stepped onto the interwoven fingers of Milly, who was already in position to boost her up. She grunted with some exertion as she managed to jump from Milly's hands to the ledge of the rock wall. Using a small rock jutting out of the other wall as leverage, she boosted herself up on top of the rock face. “She even taught me the secret ingredient. They are... Muah!” She made a exploding motion with her hands by her mouth. “Delectable! Not to toot my own horn.”

Holly tossed Isabella some rope, which she quickly tied around a heavy rock. “Alright, ladies, come on up!” Isabella cockily dusted her hands, satisfied with her work. The other girls quickly joined their leader at the top of the rock face.

Gretchen grinned. “It's crazy that we can still handle this stuff like a well-oiled machine. Glad to have you back, chief.”

Isabella took Gretchen's hand and led her aside. “Gretch?” Isabella whispered as the other girls began to gather their supplies. “If you really wanted to hang out with me so bad, why didn't you just say so earlier? You and I've been distant since... since the school year started.”

Gretchen narrowed her eyes. “C'mon, Isabella, you've gotta know why by now.”

“I always figured you were fine with Phineas- “

Gretchen's expression became one of surprise. “Phineas? No, no... you've got it all wrong.” She started to laugh uncontrollably, getting the attention of all the other girls. Isabella watched her troop turn to her with looks of confusion. Gretchen waved at the girls.

“Hey, hey, girls, get this. Isabella thought we stopped coming around because we didn't like Phineas.”

All the girls began to laugh as well. At this point, Isabella was becoming annoyed, being kept in the dark about what precisely was so funny.

Ginger walked up to Isabella and put her arm around her shoulder. “Gee, chief, of all the people to be oblivious to romance I assumed it wouldn't be you.”

“Romance?”

“We all spent the better part of last year-” Ginger waved out towards the laughing troop. “- THEY'VE all been fighting over the heart of one Ferb Fletcher.”

* * *

Ferb Fletcher wasn't thinking about any of those girls. His mind was on Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. Having set to the task of cleaning up Badbeard Lake, it really was the kind of mind-numbing activity that gave a man a lot of time to think. Like, what was maturity? Was he good enough for her? What would his parents, or even his siblings, think? What would-

“Boy, and I thought chores couldn't get any more boring.” Phineas interrupted his brother's train of thought. Phineas flopped lazily over the back of the seat of the hovercraft, which was facing the opposite direction of his brother's. The back of his head was now touching the top of Ferb's. “I know that look, Ferb. You thinking about something heavy? Two minds are better than one.”

Ferb thought about it for a minute as the quiet whir of the machinery blended into the soft sounds of the lake. Phineas patiently hung his head, waiting for any sign. After what seemed like forever, Ferb spoke. “Have you ever considered something truly impossible?”

“We never fail to accomplish our goals, even though it might be a bit of a...” Phineas looked around at the dirty lake- “slog.”

“I guess it's something less of a 'goal'. It's something more abstract than that. It's a person. A relationship.”

Now, Phineas was dense, but he wasn't THAT dense. He knew exactly what his brother was talking about. “Hoo boy! Ferb's got a girl on his brain, doesn't he?”

“Yes. Yes he does.” Ferb let air out of his mouth as it reluctantly curled into a smile.

“Well, that makes two of us, chum. I'm missing Isabella. I knew Buford and Baljeet were gonna be gone today but I thought at least she'd come along. But, I digress. How about you make the first move?”

“To be honest, brother, flirtation comes easy to me, almost instinctual... except in cases where I actually care about the result.”

“Ah, so all those passes at the Fireside Girls didn't count for anything? Cruel, dude.”

Ferb was surprised Phineas had noticed. Phineas playfully socked him on the shoulder. “What, you think I didn't notice? None of those poor girls spared!” Phineas chuckled turned around in his seat and peeked over the edge at Ferb. Ferb had given Phineas too much credit. He'd definitely spared one.

“You're Ferb Fletcher, man, any girl ought to- ” The two suddenly stopped their conversation as they heard a screech in the lower part of their machine. Ferb frowned as he dipped under the water to check what had happened. He surfaced, sputtering dirty water and wiping his eyes.

“What's the damage, Ferb?”

“The garbage collection engine is out. We'll have to send for some parts.”

“Some luck!” Phineas whipped out his cell phone and called up an engine part supplier. Ferb climbed back into their vessel and began to steer it to shore.

* * *

Flint and Doofenshmirtz were watching Perry like a hawk to make sure he wasn't going to escape the pile of ash he was currently struggling against. A beep came from the control console that Flint was standing by. “Oh! That was faster than I expected.”

Doofenshmirtz looked confused. “Faster than you expected? This thing just had to charge up a battery, right?”

Flint became excited as he began to ramble about his machine. “Not just a battery! It also leverages a recently discovered energy source... probability ions!”

“Probability ions?”

“Basically, ” Flint explained, “probability ions determine luck. Negative ones cause bad luck, and positive ones cause good luck. I found a way to leverage the positive ions certain people have to change the character traits of a person. Of course, since it's energy, it has to come from somewhere.” Flint held out his hands forming two parallel lines on his left. “Thusly, we have to absorb it from Roger-” He moved the lines to the right, “-and give it to me. So, I guess a rich source of probability ions is nearby.”

He moved to the control panel to aim the beam. Doofenshmirtz, unsure of what to do, figured he might as well mess with his arch-enemy. He grabbed a cardboard box from the corner of the room and cut two eye-holes in it, then placed it over Perry's head. “Wow, look at you now, Perry the Platypus. You're a real stealth operative. I can't even tell you're there.” He sat on the box.

* * *

The Fireside Girls once again came to an impasse. This time, it was a dark cavern. The girls had forgotten to pack any kind of flashlight, and they had left their cell phones at the base camp by accident. They had to think of a way to get through safely. “Girls! Keep your hand on the left side of the cave wall and follow me!” Isabella motioned for all the girls to line up behind her. It was easy going, if a bit nerve wracking, to walk around in the dark, but none of the girls were about to admit they were even the least bit scared. Suddenly, a startled yell echoed through the cave.

“Isabella!” Gretchen called out. She was nowhere to be seen. “Oh, my gosh! What could have happened?”

Addyson pushed ahead of Gretchen. “We need to push on through the cave, find materials to make a torch or something, and then come back to search!” Her determination shone through her voice, and the other girls quickly fell into line. The only way was through.

* * *

Flint and Doofenshmirtz were trying to target Roger through the window in his office when they suddenly heard a surprised scream.

“Someone hit one of the secret entrances!” Flint exclaimed with surprise. The two turned around to see none other than Isabella Garcia-Shapiro land in a heap in front of them. She was so surprised from the entrance, she could barely process the large lair around her. Perry was glad he was covered by the box.

“Flint? What are you doing here? And.... Vanessa's Dad?” Isabella got up off the ground. Flint reached for his front pocket when he remembered – he had no access to his trusty memory-eraser.

He quickly tapped on the controls and turned the ray on her and fired. The ray seemed to shock the girl, and she tensed up as the beam took it's effect. It shot the absorbed charisma into Flint, filling him with renewed energy.

“Wha- What was that?” Isabella put her hand on her head, as if she was aching. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We're plotting to take over the Tri-State Area.” Heinz casually admitted.

“But it's a secret.” Flint quickly turned the girl around as he assured her. “Please, don't tell anyone you saw us here, alright?”

“O-Ok.” Isabella just kind of went with what he was saying with little resistance. That was good. That meant it was working. Flint shoved her into an elevator and shut the door, sending her up. He wiped his brow with a relieved sigh as he turned his attention back to Doofenshmirtz.

“You can't just tell her we're evil, Doc!”

“Why not?”

Flint began to pace around. “She's a part of my host family! If I'm found out, I'm dead! Or at least arrested, which at my age is basically the same thing!”

“Logically, the charismatron means you've convinced her not to talk about this incident right?”

“Yeah, but if she gets it back she might give this some thought. I'll have to make a better memory-eraser, so I can single out this memory.”

Flint walked over to the control panel and slapped himself on the forehead. “Ah, crud! We're gonna have to charge it up again!” Perry chattered with satisfaction.

“But she was like putty in your hands, man! Whatever charisma that little girl has, it's enough to convince anyone to do anything.” Perry chattered with dissatisfaction. This sounded the same as the other chatter.

Flint looked down at his hands in realization. “Then we don't need Roger!”

Doofenshmirtz proudly high-fived the boy. “By Jove, I think you've got it!” He pressed a button and summoned a rocket-skiff from beneath the floor, lifting the three of them into the air. “Let's go pay the mayor a visit.”

* * *

Phineas and Ferb were waiting on the shore of Badbeard Lake, sitting in the ice cream truck, trying their best to contact a parts dealer to fix their garbage collector. “Wow, what an unlucky day!” Phineas exclaimed with frustration as he put the phone down. “That's the fifth guy that was closed today!” Apparently, there was some kind of power failure that effected the entire industrial district, and parts were hard to find.

“Well, it looks like we gotta clean this thing manually.” The boys grabbed a trash bag each from the back of the truck, and detached some poles from the trash collection vehicle. Phineas bent down and stabbed a cola can, putting it in his bag. He looked out at the garbage and frowned. “Well, we've never been beaten before.” The two set to work.

* * *

Isabella was unceremoniously shot from out a tree stump onto her butt. She was outside the cave the Fireside Girls were finally finished getting through. She frowned, and got up, dusting herself off in the process. The troop gathered themselves around their leader, not having witnessed her entrance.

“Chief!”

“Isabella!”

“You moron!” Addyson slapped Isabella upside the head. Isabella stumbled a tiny bit, but quickly recovered. “What happened to you?”

Isabella couldn't explain what had happened, since she was sure she wasn't supposed to, but she couldn't actually come up with anything that could have happened. “I dunno. I just got dizzy and ended up here.” She sat on the stump, rubbing her head.

“Whatever.” Addyson grinned. “I'm just glad you're alright, Isabella.”

Isabella wasn't quite alright. She peered over the edge of the cliff and suddenly became very fearful. “Addyson,” She asked “Could you take point? I'm not feeling too well.”

“Alright.” Addyson saluted and led the girls up the mountain, with Isabella bringing up the rear. The girls noticed their leader's sudden change in disposition, but just assumed she wouldn't want to talk about it.

* * *

Flint and Doofenshmirtz were riding the rocket-skiff on their way to city hall. Flint was riding high off of Isabella's stolen charisma, and was trying to convince Perry the Platypus to not try to escape from his cardboard box ash pile prison. “C'mon, Perry the Platypus!” Flint's eyes were wider than he thought eyes could biologically grow. He had tilted his head slightly to the left and everything. “You don't have to try to defeat us!”

Perry knew the statement to be true, but not for the reason Flint thought. He chattered his refusal, and Flint sat down next to Doofenshmirtz on the cardboard box. After a short while, Heinz got up to land the skiff. The skiff landed on a large podium by city hall. Doofenshmirtz produced a loudspeaker and handed it to Flint. “I sure hope this works, kiddo.”

Flint took the loudspeaker, and both of them stood up by the podium. “People of the Tri-State Area! Could you please turn your attention to the podium?”

Every person in the area immediately turned towards the two. Flint mustered up all the natural charisma he possibly could and asked his captive audience a simple question. “Y'all wanna make me mayor?”

The crowd, about 200 hundred people, collectively collapsed into screaming applause. A nearby hardware store was luckily selling torches, pitchforks, and shovels, so in a few minutes they had a pretty healthy angry mob going, and it was growing bigger by the minute.

“Mob mentality!” Doofenshmirtz exclaimed. “My favorite kind!” The two got off the rocket skiff and began to march on city hall.

* * *

Addyson had been doing a pretty good job of navigating the tricky geography of Mount Danville, and Isabella was still charisma-less. Addyson raised a fist, with her arm bent at a 90 degree angle. The girls all stopped as they came across a cliff.

“Hmm. Seems like we're at an impasse.” Addyson observed that there was about a 20 foot gap between the edge of the cliff and the next part of the path. There were some exposed roots that could potentially support some weight on the other side, but there was no way any of the girls could jump for it. “Anyone got any suggestions?”

All the girls sat in a circle and looked to Isabella. Isabella was feeling uncharacteristically lacking in confidence, but the seeds of an idea started to sprout in her head. A rock jutting out from the side of the mountain could catch a rope, and that could be used to get one of the girls to swing around to the soft roots and get a foothold. She stood up and managed to stutter out her idea.

“M-maybe we could s-swing one of us around that rock face.”

The girls could barely understand her. Addyson turned to face her friend and dissected her plan. “Well, your tone indicates you lack confidence in that plan. Who's gonna get swung around? You? You can't possibly ask one of us to put ourselves in danger!”

“W...well I would be too heavy. It would have to be either Milly or Katie.” Isabella was mumbling, looking down at her shoes. It was almost like she was talking to Phineas. Milly and Katie took steps back.

“W-well gee, chief, I couldn't-” Katie started.

“Yeah, that's gotta be a 30 foot drop!” Milly finished.

* * *

Doofenshmirtz and Flint were feeling awfully confident in their plan. Their march on city hall was going swimmingly, and it appeared that Roger's regime wouldn't last much longer.

“There doesn't need to be any violence, Mayor Doofenshmirtz! There only needs to be justice!” Flint was rallying people into a veritable frenzy of passionate, semi-political activism. The crowd broke down the doors to the mayor's office, past the secretary's desk where Vanessa was sitting, dumbfounded, and Flint sauntered in, Doofenshmirtz in tow. He got up on the mayor's desk and sat with his legs crossed and eyes narrowed at the current mayor.

“Hello, Mayor Doofenshmirtz! As you can see, your electorate refuses to have you in power for even a second more!” Flint smugly smiled at Roger.

“Well,” Roger looked at the threatening mob. “I can't really refuse an unruly mob. Just a question, though... how old are you?”

* * *

At this point, Perry had long since escaped the clutches of the two amateur villains. The skiff had shaken up the pile of ash, and Doof and Flint had gotten up off the cardboard box, which was very easy to escape afterwards. He had commandeered a motorcycle and raced to Mount Danville. Once inside, he set to looking for a way to reverse the machine. After a careful consideration of all his options, he decided to press the big red button labeled REVERSE.

* * *

Flint felt as if his soul had suddenly left his body. “Uh... 15?” Roger stopped the boy right there, and got a big book out from under his desk labeled LAWS OF THE TRI-STATE AREA. With a heavy thud, the book was set on the table. He skimmed through the contents until he came to the section labeled LEGALITY OF OFFICE. He pointed to a small section of legal-ese.

“Unfortunately, the town charter specifically states no man under the age of 25 can take office in the Tri-State Area.”

“Ha!” Flint laughed. “You think some pesky law is gonna stop me from ruling the Tri-State Area? I have an angry mob on my side.”

Heinz tugged on Flint's sleeve. “Uh, kiddo... no, we don't.”

Flint turned around to see that his angry mob had dispersed, much to his chagrin. “What? What happened to my charisma?” He got off of Roger's desk and began to pace around the room, rambling about the impossibility of his invention malfunctioning.

“Well, I guess it stopped working. That's some egg on your face, I guess.” Doofenshmirtz shrugged in disappointment.

“No! There's no way it would just stop working! There must be something that I haven't considered!”

* * *

Some distance away, Perry the Platypus was crawling towards his beloved owners, whom he had happened to spot cleaning the beach. Good lads, those two. He chattered, getting the boys' attention. “Oh, there you are, Perry.”

* * *

“Hey, Dad!” Vanessa walked into the mayor's office angrily. “Did you do something to my motorcycle? It's disappeared from its parking space!”

“Wait, Vanessa, are you working for Roger now?”

“Yeah! It's not the OWCA internship, but at least I'm doing SOMETHING good!” She exclaimed. Doofenshmirtz recoiled in hurt.

“You're- It's- He's my worst enemy! An enabler of my abusers! To this day!”

Roger shrugged. “That's true.”

Vanessa and Heinz continued to argue as Flint madly racked his brain for an explanation to his problem. Roger called security. They could sort this all out.

* * *

Isabella felt a rush of energy surge through her body. She listened to Milly and Katie complain about their roles, and she felt a mixture of pity and disappointment. “Enough!” She shut the two up instantly. “You two are more than capable of getting this done. When have I ever asked you to do more than you were capable of? What happened to the strength we're supposed to embody?”

She looked down at the smaller girls. “I believe in you. You can trust my judgment.” Katie stepped up and saluted.

“I'm sorry, chief! It's just that before you didn't seem that confident!” With that, she flung a rope up the rock face and swung to the soft roots that were sticking out of the mountain. She tied the rope around a stake and proudly motioned towards her makeshift rope-bridge. The other girls clambered up the rope and crowded around Katie. Everyone cheered as they tossed her up into the air.

“I knew you could do it!” Isabella happily hugged her friend. They were very close to the summit now. It was right around the corner. “Now, girls, we will be the first people to summit the new Mount Danville!”

They turned the corner to see Phineas and Ferb, next to their hovercraft, eating sandwiches. “Oh, hey girls!” Phineas waved at the shocked troop. “We were just taking a break. This is where you were planning on hiking, Isabella? Why'd you need the heat suit? It's not that hot up here!”

Isabella was too stunned to reply. Her jaw hung open.

Ferb offered her a sandwich, closed it in her hand, raised it to her mouth, and closed her jaw. Isabella waved her arms around, slapping him away. Ferb glared at her.

“H- Wha- Wh- Uh- HOW?!?” Addyson finally broke the girls' awkward silence.

“Well, it's a bit of a long story.” Phineas began.

* * *

Phineas and Ferb were slowly cleaning up the trash on the beach of Badbeard Lake. Nearby, a formerly angry mob was looking for something to do.

“Hey!” One man yelled, “Those boys are selflessly cleaning Badbeard Lake!”

“Wow! Their natural charisma makes me want to chip in!”

A large crowd went into the hardware store and came out with trash bags, those pointy trash stabbing things, shovels, and all manner of equipment. They gathered around Badbeard Lake and began to clean the area faster than the boys' ever could.

“Huh.” Phineas surveyed the group. “These people have it locked down, Ferb. I guess we deserve a lunch break.” He pointed up to Mount Danville. “You think we could get the hovercraft up there since the trash pod is removed?”

Ferb gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

“Well, I guess it's not that long of a story.” Phineas shrugged.

“That doesn't matter, Flynn!” Addyson angrily pointed at Phineas. “We were supposed to be the first people to summit this stupid volcano!”

Phineas frowned. “Well, you are, without a vehicle.”

Addyson huffed and sat down next to him. “I guess that's good enough.” She was mumbling.

Isabella sat down and took a bunch of burritos and some thin griddles out of her backpack. She placed the griddles over the edge of the volcano opening. She attached it to the side of the cliff. She set out all of the burritos and they began to cook. Phineas scooted over next to her and held up a sandwich under her nose.

“Trade ya a sandwich for one of those wrapped thingies.”

“You don't even know what they are, Phineas.”

“Eh,” He leaned back against a rock and put his arms behind his head. “You made em, so they're probably great.”

Isabella plucked the sandwich out of his hand with a giggle. “For a compliment like that, you wouldn't have had to trade anything.” Before he could object, she took a massive bite out of the sandwich. “That's pretty good. Candace make it?”

Ferb peeked out from behind his brother, grinned at her and pointed at himself. She gave him a silent thumbs up, replicating his cold stare. He huffed and turned away, feigning hurt. Phineas and Isabella were centered in the middle of the group, Ferb was off to the side, and the Fireside Girls were by Isabella. Isabella picked up one of the burritos with some rubber gloves and gave Phineas a bite. Phineas briefly entered a state of shock. Isabella snapped to get his attention, and he quickly regained his senses.

“Woah! I kinda forgot where I was for a second.” Phineas chuckled. “That was definitely a better time than the sandwich. No offense Ferb. What were you saying, Isabella?”

Gretchen tugged on Isabella's skirt and whispered in her ear. “Go for it, chief! He's putty in your hands!”

Isabella watched Phineas tear into the burrito. Ferb was also enjoying one, but to be completely honest it couldn't have mattered less to her.

“Phineas, I- I've been thinking...” She started. Phineas stopped eating and turned his head to hers, chewing with satisfaction. “You know, my 15th birthday is coming up soon, and that means I'll be getting a bunch of my friends together... And... ”

There were seconds of silence between the two. Phineas swallowed his food and licked his lips. “And?”

“And... I'm really grateful for the dress.”

“Oh, thanks. It was no problem, really.” Phineas scratched the back of his head. “So, what, like 'chamberlain' grateful?” He grinned slyly at her. “Yeah, I read up on this 'Quince' stuff.” She blushed slightly. He was just so cute when he was smug like that.

“Y-Yeah! You and Ferb have got to be my first two chamberlains.”

The Fireside Girls all groaned in frustration. Gretchen rolled her eyes. “You'll get him next time, chief.”

* * *

Isabella was lying on her couch reading a book later that evening when an exhausted Flint huffed through the door. She looked up from her novel (Some fluff novella called _The Handsome Inventor_ ) and gave him a concerned look. “Have fun with that weird old guy at the volcano?”

“As a matter of a fact, I did. We... started a political activism campaign.”

“And how's that working out for you?”

“Not well.” Flint scratched the back of his neck. “Not super well. How'd your thing go? I mean outside of falling into my friend's lab.”

“Oh, that's his lab? So it's like you're Marty McFly and he's Doc Brown? Does he teach you any neat engineering stuff?”

“It's more life skills. He's full of sagely wisdom. A bit eccentric though.” Flint smiled at her, half facetiously. “Whatcha readin'?”

“First,” Isabella hung her head back over the arm of the couch, “Be careful with the 'whatcha's. That's my thing. Mine and Phineas'. Second, it's just a little escapist fiction.”

“Huh. I got the impression you and Phineas didn't have a 'thing'.” He peered over the couch and read the title of the book. It looked like one of those cheesy novellas you could pick up at the checkout of a grocery store, complete with a Schwarzenegger-esque scientist with an open labcoat and no undershirt. He pushed the book down, making eye contact with the girl. “You, uh, like your fellas smart?”

Isabella shifted uncomfortably. She sat up and closed the book, slipping it into her pocket. “Well, to be honest, I've never had Phineas' attention, and I've never had feelings for anyone else, so...” She trailed off contemplatively. Flint couldn't relate.

“I can't relate.” He shrugged. Isabella sighed, letting her posture droop. She waved towards the fridge.

“Burritos in there. Do what you want for dinner, Mom and Dad have already turned in.”

Flint opened the fridge and slapped a burrito in the microwave. He took a seat at the kitchen counter's breakfast bar, resting his elbow on the granite surface. “As I was asking earlier, your hike?”

“Oh. It was cool. Phineas liked my cooking.”

“I thought you went with the Fireside Girls?” Flint raised an eyebrow. “You're not lying to your pops because he doesn't like Phineas, right?”

“It's a long story.”

* * *

“Alright, I guess it's not that long.”

Flint was satisfied. The microwave beeped and he carefully extracted the plate from it. He waved his hand about to cool it and cut into the tortilla, releasing a hot burst of air. Isabella suddenly sat up in the couch and looked at him.

“Wait, Dad doesn't like Phineas?”

“I feel like nobody around here possesses any emotional intelligence whatsoever. This is really good, by the way.”

“Thanks, Flint.”Isabella slipped back into the reader's trance she had developed, yawning, and Flint happily nibbled at his meal. Isabella eventually drifted off into sleep on the couch, the book resting on her face. Flint thought maybe he should take her to bed or something, but considered that that may be overstepping his bounds. Instead, he threw a blanket over her and headed downstairs to the basement. His thoughts were once again contradicting each other. Here he was, an evil scientist, trying to correct the balance of the multiverse at the cost of millions, and he was catching feelings for one of the millions. He laid in his cot staring up at the ceiling. Phineas was lucky. Perhaps he wouldn't have turned out the way he did if he was surrounded by people who cared for him. It was strange, he thought, that although he destroyed his home, and was forced to come here, the only person he felt a strong bond with was Candace. His Candace, Candace-164 to be exact. He eventually lulled himself to sleep, dreaming of his sister. If it came down to this universe and her, he knew who would have to go.

* * *

**A/N: The plot thickens! This episode was more focused on building the important characters up in this part of the story. I've always enjoyed the sisterhood the FSG share, and how that interacts with the brothers is interesting. I decided on Ferb being a 'ladies man' pretty early on, but also tried to make a point of his sole interest in Vanessa. I have also decided future chapters do not necessarily have to follow the traditional P &F plot structure. Some chapters will be smaller, to expand on the worldbuilding and the plot in-between “episodes”. Thanks for all the favorites and follows so far! I really like writing this stuff and it's nice to see people enjoying it. As always, drop a review if you are so inclined. A minor edit was made to the first chapter, when Isabella is texting Phineas, the characters she deletes are a heart emoticon. Apparently, fanfic.net doesn't like those characters, so I changed it to a ;). Need to double check these before I upload em.**


	5. Charitable Communications Collapse

**Review Responses:**

**Blinder: Don't you worry. Even if people aren't reviewing, there is a lot of traffic hitting this fic, so I know people are reading. I'm not gonna drop it until I at least get the first major “arc”, so to speak, done. At least 10 chapters, I'm thinking. I really like writing this stuff, and it's getting my brain juices going for other projects of mine too. Don't worry about your English, I read you loud and clear. :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Charitable Communications Collapse** _

Phineas was laying, belly down, on his bed, staring blankly at a laptop screen. He finally held his head and put his face down in frustration. “Aaaaargh!” His video call with Buford and Baljeet had once again dropped, and a faulty internet connection was to blame. Phineas crossed his arms and glared down at his computer, as if willing it to repair the connection itself. He looked over at his big brother, who was absentmindedly clicking away on his phone. Phineas motioned towards the computer angrily. “Are you seeing this, Ferb?”

Ferb finally looked up from his phone, giving Phineas a confused stare. Quickly picking up on Ferb's lack of context, he set to catching him up on the morning's situation. “I'm trying to video chat with Baljeet and Buford while they're up in the Himalayas with 'Jeets uncle, but the connection keeps dropping. It's infuriating, especially because I wanted them to see if they could find some samples of the rubber band ball we used to fix the plane we took around the world.” Ferb returned a raised eyebrow. “Because I want to see if there's any trace of our positive ions on it.” Ferb nodded along.

The two had discovered probability ions during the school year, during a school project. When Phineas and Ferb were separated from each other on a group science fair assignment, both had turned in only above-average work, and had lost to Baljeet. This was sub-par by their standards, so they did an investigation and found that the both of them had an invisible field around them that directly affected their “luck”,so to speak. The field became significantly weaker when the two weren't working together, though sometimes it seemed these rules fluctuated.

Phineas, thinking of ways to leverage it for the purposes of defying reality in bigger ways than before, had immediately set to testing out all possible variables of the ionic field. Ferb had found a way to measure them, and Phineas discovered that most of their projects were practically covered in the stuff. Their clothes, their tools, even their pet platypus was practically oozing with luck. That's when Phineas had the idea to get a sample of the rubber band ball, because it was connected to one of the few inventions of theirs that seemed to not work as intended. But that couldn't happen because...

“The internet connection over there is totally satellite based, and it's shoddily put together at that! We've been dropping all morning. If I was in charge of creating a system like that, I'd... wait a second.” Phineas grabbed his brother, who had since gone back to typing away at his phone, on the shoulders and shook him violently. “Ferb! I know what we're gonna do today!” Ferb gave him a glare with a hint of annoyance. Of course Phineas barely noticed. “I'll go make us some breakfast, then we can hop to it!”

Phineas grabbed a pen and some paper from his desk and put the pen in his mouth. Sliding down the railing on the stairs, Phineas set to work. He laid out the paper flat on the table. It was 5AM in Danville, and the town was still quiet. The idea was to call his friends at a time that was convenient for them, and the Himalayas was approximately 12 hours apart in time zone from Washington. He threw some eggs on to the stove, turning it up to medium heat. On another pan, he put it on a high sear and threw some sausage links on, lightly drizzling syrup on it while it cooked, all the while sketching down details on his makeshift blueprint. A couple of bowls of cereal and two glasses of orange juice later, Ferb finally came down the stairs, still stuck to his cell phone.

Phineas slid the chair out for his brother, and he wordlessly took his seat. Tasting the slightly burnt eggs and more-than-slightly overcooked sausage, he looked up at Phineas and gave him a thumbs-up. He was no Gordon Ramsey, but it wasn't bad. Isabella's cooking, however, had made it turn to ash in his mouth by comparison. He was still thinking about that burrito.

Phineas had the same thought. “I bet that Isabella knocks breakfast out of the park.” His hand was on his cheek and his elbow was resting on the table. He practically had nostalgia for last night's lunch. “You think we'll ever get a chance to taste that?”

Ferb grinned at his brother for the first time all morning. “Perhaps, someday, YOU will.” He chuckled. His younger brother just looked confused, and set to finishing the plans. He slid them across the table to Ferb.

Phineas gave Ferb a second to process the plans in front of him. “That's right! We're gonna build a global set of internet satellites. Since Baljeet is on the other side of the world, all we would have to do is call up some friends and get them to let us bridge the connection. You call up Stark, and I'll see if Elon can do something for us.”

Perry stirred from his sleep, and waddled over to his owners with some grogginess. Phineas grabbed Perry's bowl and placed it on the table, placing some wet food and worms into it. “Come on up, boy! Mom and Dad won't care if they're not up.” Perry happily obliged, but had to refrain from jumping up on his hind legs, instead opting to climb the chair and hop on from there. He dug into the meal.

“Hey, Perry, can you do me a favor?” Phineas wrote a note on a post-it and stuck it to Perry's back. “While we're getting ready, do you mind wandering over to Isabella's and seeing if she's up? We could use her help.” Perry seemed to consciously understand English, and the brothers had figured this out recently. This was a trait that was shared with a few of their friends' pets, including Isabella's chihuahua, Pinky. Perry chattered, finished his meal, hopped off the table, and left through the pet door.

“She's probably not up.” Phineas said, seemingly to no one.

* * *

Isabella trudged around the main hall of her family home, having gotten up early. She heard faint sounds coming from the backyard, and cupped her hand to her ear. The sounds were those of exertion and a hard thumping. Approaching the sliding door to the backyard, she found that it was Flint. He was throwing all manner of punches and kicks at a dummy that she hadn't seen before. On the table next to him, there was a cup of coffee, a burnt slice of toast, and some soggy toaster waffles. She slid the door open, and approached her housemate from behind.

As if on instinct, Flint suddenly pivoted and preformed a roundhouse kick aimed at Isabella's head with a grunt. She ducked underneath it and used her other hand to catch his foot. He quickly realized his mistake and sheepishly smiled at her. “Sorry, Isabella. I'm in the zone right now.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I'm trying to reestablish my old morning routine.” He motioned towards the table. “A solid cup of Joe, a decently balanced breakfast, and... “ He paused to jump into the air, delivering a kick that nearly snapped the dummy's neck as his foot connected with the chin. “... some practice against my homemade dummy.”

Isabella looked down at his sad excuse for a meal. She picked up the coffee and took a sip. “Well, the coffee's alright.” She realized that he had gone to bed at about the same time as her, about 11PM. “How long did you sleep?”

“Well, it's like Napoleon Bonaparte once said... '6 hours of sleep for a man, 7 hours for a woman, and 8 hours for a fool.'”

Isabella couldn't really think of a response to that, so she continued her critique of his breakfast. “These waffles are awful. And this toast is terrible. No man should eat like this. Hold on, I'll make you some pancakes.” She almost turned to walk back inside, but looked back at him inquisitively. “Do you know any grappling techniques, Flint?”

“Do I know any...” Flint trailed off. Suddenly, he exploded into a rush of movement. He yanked her arm back towards him, pushed on her shoulder, and attempted to sweep her leg out from under her. Isabella managed to kick him in the shin, push his shoulder back, and finally shot at his legs, headbutting him as the two tumbled to the ground. She got up and dusted herself off, leaving a dazed Flint in her wake.

“I wasn't asking for a demonstration. Who's the dummy here?”

“Still this one.” Flint hastily got up knocked on the dummy's head. “And for the record, I was gonna catch you before you hit the ground.”

“You're dreaming if you think I'd let you get that handsy with me.” Isabella leaned in sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips.

“Hey!” Flint defensively put his hands up. “That wasn't my intent. I was just having a bit of fun.” He felt a bit humiliated. Isabella rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. I'll get started on that breakfast and then we can go over where you maneuvered wrong.” Flint grinned. Isabella was about to walk back inside when she heard a chatter and something rubbed up against her ankles. It was Perry! She picked him up and smiled at him. “Are you taking your little trip early today?” She put him down and started to rub his belly as he happily chirped. She began to pet his back, and felt something on it. “What's this?” She looked at the note.

 _Isabella,_ _Ferb and I are starting work a little early today. If you're up, and not busy, feel free to drop by. Flint too._

_-Phineas_

Her heart swelled just a tiny bit as she looked it over. Perhaps she was reading a bit too deeply, but the idea that Flint was an afterthought to her crush appealed to her on some level. She leaned down to rub Perry's head. Perry purred in contentment. “Thanks little guy!” She skipped back inside before turning towards the backyard. “I'm cooking for 4 now, so get ready to carry some plates over to the Flynn-Fletchers!”

Flint turned around and scowled at the dummy. “Fine by me,” he mumbled in a low voice. He slammed the dummy forcefully with his elbow, and the head popped clean off. He tapped a button on the base of the dummy and it began to pack itself up. “It's not like I wanted to eat a home-cooked meal with Isabella Garcia-Shapiro alone in her backyard while discussing martial arts.” Those two just had to ruin everything for him.

About 10 minutes later, Isabella had whipped up a large stack of chocolate-chip pancakes, and was headed out the door, Flint following closely behind. _Oh well,_ he thought, _If I have to join the Flynn-Fletcher brothers, I could think up some way to disrupt the day's activity._ Flint rubbed his hands together. Scheming was fun.

* * *

Isabella came into the backyard to the usual sight. Phineas and Ferb were already hard at work, though Ferb was stopping often to check his phone and type a message back. That was odd. Ferb never texted the paragraphs he appeared to be composing now. Phineas noticed Isabella coming in.

“Hey, guys! Whatcha-”

“Oh! Pancakes! I've got just the thing for that!” Phineas suddenly dashed around the side of the house, brushing by her. She stood in confusion for a second, miffed at not being able to finish her question. He returned with a large fold-out table he had gotten from the garage, and some plates, which he had gotten from... somewhere. All she knew was that he hadn't gone inside. He quickly set the table up and motioned Isabella toward it. “There we go!”

Isabella looked across the table at Ferb. “What's up with him? He's never that wrapped up in a cell phone.” Phineas had noticed, but hadn't thought to ask about it. He dug into the pancakes.

“Well, I noticed, but I hadn't thought to ask about it.”

Ferb looked up from his phone. “Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.” He looked back down. Isabella nodded in understanding. She slid Ferb a plate of pancakes. “Thank you, Isabella, but Phineas already made breakfast.”

Phineas looked up from his already half-finished pancakes, syrup dribbling off of his chin. “Ferb, you weren't supposed to tell her.” He jokingly spat. He looked up at Isabella, who was watching him eat intently. “What? And miss out on a breakfast made by the best cook I know? A man doesn't launch a space satellite on an empty stomach.” He shrugged as she tried to hide an appreciative blush. The other boys were not really paying attention. Flint was also now wrapped up in his cell phone, and on top of that he was texting a Doofenshmirtz:

_Boss, I'm in a good position to launch an -inator into space. Send me some blueprints._

He put his phone in his pocket for only a brief moment until it vibrated and he pulled it out again:

_How do I send an attachment. Thanks, Heinz._

Flint sighed as he went to work. This was going to take a while. Phineas polished off his meal and licked his lips. “Mmmmm. That was some great stuff, Isabella. What inspired you to bring us breakfast? Other than your natural kindness, of course.”

Isabella waved him off, feigning humility. “Oh, stop. You're just trying to make me feel good.”

Phineas chuckled. “Uh, yeah. That's what a compliment is. So spill!”

“Well, I found Flint here-” Flint grunted in acknowledgment “-practicing some martial arts out in the backyard eating an absolutely miserable excuse for a breakfast. He decided to demonstrate a grappling technique on me, and it turns out I'm 2 for 4 on wrestling my friends to the ground.” Isabella had previously wrestled Buford successfully, Ferb unsuccessfully, and to be honest she might have let Phineas pin her just to see what it felt like.

“That was when this little guy came along and -” Isabella looked around. Phineas could have sworn that the platypus had entered the yard with his neighbors.

“Hey, where's Perry?”

* * *

Perry had ducked around the corner of the house and peeled off a section of the grass in the lawn. He was greeted with a large yellow steel ladder. He began to climb down the ladder. Maybe 30 seconds in, he realized that it was going to be a long climb. Suddenly, a voice seemed to enter his head without sound-waves.

“What a thrill... with darkness and silence through the night...”

After another 2 minutes of Snake Eater, Perry finally reached the bottom of the large ladder well. He dashed into his liar and hopped into his chair. Major Monogram appeared on the screen, wearing an eye patch.

“Good morning Agent P. Here's the latest footage from our bugs at DEI.”

Major Monogram motioned towards pictures of Heinz hunched over on his couch and laying down watching TV. “Yep, that's all Floyd, Napoleon, and Wendell could find. But look at this!”

The TV appeared to be displaying a drone flying over the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. Flint was hammering away at the table working on some contraption, occasionally stopping to check his phone. “It looks to us like Doofenshmirtz is monitoring his new protege in his first foray into a solo evil operation. Now, we understand that both you and the other Agent P, Pinky the Chihuahua, have host families that could easily put this operation at risk, so we've decided to send in the OTHER OTHER Agent P, Peter the Panda. You should stay nearby in case an emergency situation occurs.”

Perry was confused by the instructions, but nonetheless decided to take what was basically a day off with some gratitude. He and the major saluted each other. Perry leapt out of his chair and began to climb back up the ladder. Once again...

“What a thrill...”

* * *

Candace finally awoke at her standard time, which was now a decent 9 in the morning. College classes often took more time in the evenings than the afternoons, as most of the time she was studying or writing papers outside of class. Having studied law for the past year, she had a lot of pent up stress, and she was hoping to rid herself of some of that stress by taking a day off from everything. Just yesterday, while the boys were off doing something out of sight and therefore out of mind (Thank God) she had finally pinned down the last of the decor tenuously chosen for the dress rehearsal.

“Though I'm sure the boys will have some ideas to 'improve' things.” She reluctantly rolled out of bed, having placed her phone on a nearby chair as a mechanism to motivate herself to wake up, and threw some clothes into a pile to change into later. Suddenly, a long-buried sense began to reawaken. A twitch of the eyelid. An extension of the finger. A tensing of the neck.

The boys were building something.

* * *

Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella were already hard at work on the internet satellite when Perry re-emerged through the backyard gate. Phineas was the first to notice, briefly putting down his tools to scoop up his pet and rub his head. “There you are, Perry!” He looked at Isabella and Ferb, who had also stopped working. “Wait a second, this usually happens when we're done for the day.”

Candace suddenly leaned out the window. “What are you two out doing? Up early in hopes I wouldn't see what you were up to?”

“Oh! Candace! You're up!” Phineas turned towards his sister. Flint crashed into the table carrying a bunch of parts, having been distracted by the yelling girl. “Check it out! We're not even done with the satellite and Perry's already back!”

“Perhaps Buford and Baljeet finished their end of the project early.” Ferb mumbled, before returning to work cobbling together bits of circuitry.

* * *

“This is absolutely insane!” Baljeet ran his hand through his hair, his voice reflecting the stress placed on him. He waved the blueprints that Phineas had managed to send through a Stark Industries satellite in Buford's face. “Look at this list! The reflective paneling alone is going to be impossible to find! We can't even start without it!”

Buford and Baljeet were standing on the side of one of the Himalayan mountains, right outside of Baljeet's uncle's rubber band factory. “We could improvise, I'm sure.” Buford looked around, considering the options. “Not that I see anything we could do that with. Any chance we can use yer uncle's phone? I could see if the guys have any suggestions.”

“We could, but- wait! We could just call the Flynn-Fletchers through the telephone! Then we wouldn't need to build this satellite!”

“At this point I'm pretty sure Dinnerbell isn't gonna change the plan today.”

* * *

“So the plan did go through a few iterations, but the basic gist of it is that we're going to launch twin satellites at opposite ends of the earth to create a very basic internet link that should be accessible through any long-range wireless chip on the planet.”

“Wow, Phin, that's really noble!” Toast was not the only thing Isabella enjoyed buttering up.

“Noble?” Phineas shrugged. “I suppose. It sounded more 'crazy' and 'fun' in my head but I guess you could call it 'noble'.” Phineas emphasized the last bit with air quotes. Suddenly, he pushed Isabella aside as a hammer dropped where she previously stood. He looked up angrily. “Watch it, Ferb! Pay less attention to your phone and more attention to your work!”

Ferb, embarrassed, gave Isabella a concerned look. He looked a bit upset. Phineas saw his face calmed down almost immediately. Ferb turned his attention to his brother.

“Sorry, I got heated for a moment there. No harm, no foul. Just... don't let some girl distract you from what's important.”

Ferb, hearing this, once again looked at Isabella. Her face had gone pale, like she'd received some sort of forbidden knowledge. She slumped down on the table, where Flint was working on something under a tarp. Perry was inconspicuously laying next to him in the sunlight, keeping a close watch on the inventor. “I'll just sit here and relax a while... that was quite the shock.” she sighed dejectedly.

Flint's voice was muffled by the tarp. “Nice of you to join me, Isabella.” He seemed to enjoy the company. Isabella's curiosity was piqued.

“What's under the tarp?”

“A little something I've been cooking up with 'Doc Brown'.” Technically, he wasn't lying. It was little. It was something. He had “cooked it up” with Heinz Doofenshmirtz. He did, carefully, omit the part where he intended to launch a laser into space, hidden on the satellite, so that he could destroy something and blame it on the boys. Isabella tried to lift the blue tarp, but her hand was quickly slapped away by Flint.

He peered over the tarp at her with intensity. “You can't touch it. You can't see it. Its...” he scratched his chin for a second. “... a surprise.” He ended the sentence with some jazz hands, along with the widest eyes and grin Isabella had ever seen on his normally smarmy demeanor. She let slip a hint of anxiety at his sudden shift in mood.

“Okay...” She turned away from the tarp and put one elbow up on the table, hazily poring over the implications of Phineas' outburst.

* * *

“If only we had access to some metal to create a frame, and some silicon to create the needed solar panels and equipment, we could put a satellite together no problem with the blueprints the boys gave us!” Baljeet whined.

“Yeah.” Buford walked with his friend as they headed up to Uncle Sabu's rubber band factory. “Also, considering I've hung out with you for the past 3 or so years, you should have at least a little expectation of me absorbing knowledge through our conversations. I knew all of that, and you didn't need to restate it to me.”

Baljeet didn't even pause as he suddenly had a brilliant thought. “Buford! When we crashed here on our trip around the world!” He excitedly attempted to grab Buford's shoulders and shake them, but the bully didn't budge. Buford picked up Baljeet as to bring him up to eye level. “The Sunbeater should have enough silicon AND metal to make the satellite! We just need to find the wreck!”

Baljeet was set down and once again began to pace worriedly. “But what if it's gone? A cleanup or salvage operation could have been preformed at any time between then and now, and it could be buried underneath tons of snow, too!”

Buford and Baljeet approached the old crash site. As Baljeet suspected, the parts were nowhere to be seen. The two scanned the area for any parts sticking out of the snow. Baljeet sighed. “Of course it wasn't going to be that easy.”

Buford put his arm around his friend and pulled him into a side-hug, crushing Baljeet's midsection. “You leave this to me.” He dove hands-first into the pile of snow with a roar and began to rapidly dig through the mound of packed snow. Channeling the spirit of his Dutch ancestors, none of which he had actually met, he was able to conquer the cold with a fearsome ease.

After what seemed like hours, a large metallic clang echoed through the mountain passage. “COMING UP, JEET!” Baljeet could only watch in a mixture of terror and admiration as Buford emerged from the snow, carrying the entire wreck in his arms. He burst out and landed next to his startled comrade, letting out a heavy grunt.

Baljeet and Buford stared at each other for a second.

“What? I started working out again last year, sue me.”

* * *

“Mom left us a note, so I'm in charge!” Candace triumphantly slammed a hastily-scribbled note on the backyard table. The note read:

_Dad and I are with the Garcia-Shapiros at Mr. Johnson's presentation about interstellar communications satellites. Enough lunch is in the fridge for everybody and the usual visitors._

_Love, Mom_

“Aw, isn't that sweet! She made us lunch!” Phineas looked down at the note. “And she loves us! I mean, I understand that she loves us, but it's nice to have a concrete confirmation every once and a while, you know?”

Flint stopped working and was now wordlessly observing the two. Phineas gave the note a second glance. “Uh, Candace, it doesn't say you're in charge. We've been watching ourselves just fine for the last year. Weren't you going to spend the day with Jeremy anyways?”

Candace sighed. “I guess so. How'd you know?”

Phineas pointed towards the end of the table. Jeremy was casually sitting on the bench next to Isabella. “Good morning, good-looking.” He waved at Candace, and Isabella jumped back in surprise.

“How long have you been here?”

Jeremy grabbed Candace by the hand and escorted her out of the backyard before she could object. “Right this way, I've been waiting to just have little one-on-one with you since you got back!”

Isabella looked around at all the others. Flint had gone back to working as soon as Candace had left. Isabella motioned towards the gate. “Seriously, how long was he behind me?”

* * *

“Finally!” Jeremy opened the passenger-side door of his restored 1970 Pontiac Firebird, easing Candace in by her backside. He excitedly jumped over the hood and leapt into the driver's seat, turning the key in one smooth motion. The car jumped to life as he leaned back in his seat. “We're burning daylight! It's already page 7 and we haven't had any fun yet!”

“Well, what kind of fun could a soon-to-be-married couple alone in a car have?” Candace put her feet up on the dash. Jeremy had a habit of scolding Coltrane for doing the exact same thing, but he let it slide when it came to Candace.

Jeremy flirtatiously leaned towards her, giving her a small peck on the cheek. “Oh, you'll see.” With that, he took out a tape labeled “Candace Jams” and slid it into the dashboard's music deck. In no time flat, the two were singing along to “I'm Lindana (And I Want to Have Fun)”, with Candace handling the lead vocals and her beau coming in backup. Suddenly, Jeremy's phone let out a beep.

Candace kept singing as she picked up his cell and read out the message aloud.

“Forgot laptop. Can you swing by and get it to me?”

Jeremy sighed. “It's almost like we can never just be together these days.” He preformed a u-turn in the direction of his house, using the handbrake to drift. He had become quite the talented driver in their time together.

Candace gripped the handle at the top of the car. “Never do that again. Where did you even learn to do that?”

“Well, last summer, Phineas recruited me to stunt drive for a crazy little action movie he put together.”

“Why didn't I know about it?”

“I elected not to tell you.” Jeremy chuckled. “I didn't want to put too much stress on you with all that 'legalese' from college already bogging you down. I'll... take fifty percent off with the fancy wheel-work.”

Candace smirked. Secretly, she kind of liked the idea of her boyfriend- no- fiancee- being a fast-thinking, danger-ready driver. “Just one more thing you have in common with Ryan Gosling.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

* * *

Buford was ham-fistedly slamming parts of the satellite together while Baljeet was carefully working on the more intricate circuitry. The paneling had been put on the outside of the large metal frame. Buford stood back from his masterpiece and tapped Baljeet on the shoulder, crossing his arms and facing the satellite. Baljeet flipped up his safety goggles and looked on in shock. “Buford! This looks like modern art!”

“But it fits the project specifications, doesn't it?” The mass of metal was somewhat spherical in appearance, but the solar paneling looked questionable. Buford knocked on the metal and the whole thing creaked. Baljeet sighed and opened the slot set aside for the last of the circuits. He closed the slot and the two stepped back to admire their work. It was no Phineas and Ferb contraption, but it would have to work. Baljeet slapped his buddy on the back and sat down on a rock.

“One question remains, though... how do we get this thing into outer space?”

Buford walked over to the satellite and tried to lift it. He couldn't. He shrugged at his friend. “Well, that's the extent of my knowledge.” Baljeet sat back and started to sketch out potential ideas on a notepad.

* * *

Perry and Isabella were both watching Flint, who was just about finished with whatever he had under that tarp of his. Perry regarded him with suspicion, but knew he would be unable to intervene with all the potential witnesses. Isabella was just curious as to what he was doing.

Phineas hopped down from on top of the scaffolding where he was building a rocket to launch the satellite into space. He grinned at his friends and pet, and wiped his brow. “Nearly finished! Ferb and I are gonna go prep lunch so you don't have to stop working on... whatever that is.” Ferb slid down the ladder, eyes still glued to his phone. The two opened up the sliding glass door and headed inside.

Flint waited a few seconds and rubbed his hands together. He pulled the tarp off of his creation with a hint of pride. “Check this out!” He unveiled a large portable ray, much to Isabella's surprise and Perry's shock. Isabella gave the machine a once-over and tried to figure out what it did.

“What does it do?”

“Silly girl!” Flint leaned down and bopped her on the nose, “It's a surprise! I told you!” Isabella was taken aback by his sudden flirtation, but she let it lie. Flint lugged the machine over to the satellite while Isabella watched. He attached it to a compartment on the inside and smiled with contentment as he let his muscles relax. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and ducked around the side of the house. “Remember, no touching!” He rapidly began tapping away at the screen.

Isabella and Perry were alone in the backyard. Isabella looked at Perry with prolonged frustration, a crease forming in her brow. “Perry, can I tell you something?” Perry chattered and began to walk toward the freshly-installed ray. He faced Isabella and nodded as he looked the device over for buttons. “Sometimes I feel like you understand me more than any of the boys around here.” She laid on top of the fold-out table and huffed. “Have you noticed how similar Flint is to Phineas in his mannerisms? His physique? His... eyes?” She shuddered slightly. Perry felt a chill go down his spine, stopping to look at her. Isabella was still gazing skyward, unaware the platypus had started really paying attention. “I would normally be telling a guy off for coming on to me as obviously as he is, but it's almost charming. He doesn't even care that Phineas is right there!” Isabella turned her head to Perry, who was investigating the device. He pressed a large button with his bill.

The ray let out a _ZAP_ and shook as it shot out a red ray at the table. Isabella gasped and rolled off the table just as it caught fire. She could barely believe what she was seeing as the fire reduced the table to ash at a supernatural pace. She dusted herself off, collected herself, and stormed around the side of the house to confront Flint.

Flint saw Isabella coming, and judging from her expression she was not happy with him. She grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. The boy quickly started sweating as she pinned his neck with her forearm. Isabella narrowed her eyes. “Explain yourself.”

“Well, uh, that is, you see- “ Flint quickly reached for his memory pen in his breast pocket, but Isabella grabbed his wrist and disarmed him. Flint gasped in surprise as she leaned in closer.

“This doesn't look good for you. That thing almost killed me!”

Flint's eyes widened. “Omigosh!” His expression was that of genuine horror. “I'm so sorry! That wasn't meant for you- I mean, that wasn't meant to happen! I don't know what could have possibly-”

* * *

“- Happened if we went to a time where we couldn't communicate with the Fireside Girls in the future. We got super lucky.” Phineas and Ferb had just started the timer on the oven that was heating up their pre-prepared lunch, and Phineas had just finished explaining to his brother some of the risks of time travel. Ferb nodded as Phineas noticed something odd. “Hey! What's this?” Phineas walked over to the satellite rocket and inspected the ray sitting inside. He pressed the button and watched as the ray hit the grass right next to where Ferb had stationed himself, once again texting Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. Phineas quickly stamped out the fire that started next to his brother. “Ferb!”

Ferb was surprised when Phineas grabbed him on the shoulders. “Ferb! Pay attention! You could have been killed!” He turned to the offending device and began to think. “Obviously the thing Flint was building was some sort of ray to deal with space junk, but that kind of thing has so much potential for evil!” Phineas slapped his hand against his forehead. “I mean, what if someone decided to use it on someone? Or something?”

Ferb looked up from his phone. “Where's the table?”

Phineas looked around, unable to find anything but the pile of ash where his fold-out table had sat. “We'll just have to eat inside, then. But first, I'm gonna do a little modification. For safety's sake.” He took a wrench and some electrical equipment out of his toolbox and set to work. Perry smiled.

* * *

Isabella dragged a helpless Flint by his collar back into the backyard. “Phineas! I think Flint's trying to kill us or something!” Flint crossed his arms and huffed, staying silent.

“Isabella, that's ridiculous!” Phineas pulled Flint up off the ground and dusted him off. “Sorry, she can get intense sometimes.” Isabella angrily grunted and stomped over to where the ray was sitting.

“Oh, yeah? Well, what about this?” She faced the ray at a empty cardboard box and pressed the button to fire the ray. The ray shot out and hit the box. The box sat still for a moment, but then slowly started to drift upwards into the air. Everyone in the backyard watched it in awkward silence.

“The ray, right? Yeah, I figured it was meant to destroy space junk that might collide with the satellite, so I added functionality for it to deliver us items in space.” Phineas beamed at his own ingenuity. Flint perked up as he clasped his hands and pleaded with Isabella.

“That's what I was trying to do! Sorry I didn't explain it earlier, but you had just come at me so fast and had assumed the worst!”

Phineas put his arm around Isabella. “Remember when I got mad at you and Candace back during the Avengers crisis? It's really easy to misinterpret the intentions of someone who's only trying to help.”

Isabella stammered. “But- But- But-”

“But nothing Isabella!” Phineas made sweeping motion with both his hands. “You of all people should know it's better to give the benefit of the doubt!”

Isabella angrily glared at him for a moment, but then put her arms down with a sigh. She crossed her arms. “I guess you're right.” She continued to glare at Flint. _This isn't over_ , it seemed to say. Phineas, as always, didn't notice the palpable tension in the air, adopting a satisfied smile. He put his arms behind his back, and strolled over to the rocket. He gave the side a slap with his palm.

“So... now that that's sorted, how about we launch this baby?”

* * *

Jeremy and Candace arrived at Mr. Johnson's presentation. Candace had a sudden realization as she stepped out of the car. “Say, Jeremy, considering we have my parents here anyways, how about telling them what Phineas and Ferb are up to?”

Jeremy chuckled and grinned at her. “As if they'd come home willingly.” He took in her unfazed expression and very quickly put his hands up in defense. “I am not gonna help you drag your parents home today, Candace!”

Candace's arms slumped to her sides. “That's probably for the best.” The two started for the door just as a small crowd of people filtered out of the building. At the tail end, the Garcia-Shapiros, the Flynn-Fletchers, and the Johnsons waved off the crowd.

“Sorry about that, folks! We'll just reschedule it for next week!” Mr. Johnson seemed disappointed. Candace and Jeremy, laptop under his arm, shuffled through the crowd.

“What's wrong, Dad?”

“Well, uh...” Jeremy's father scratched the back of his head, “I guess that the city is still dealing with the effects of the volcanic eruption from the other day. The whole lecture room was flooded by a busted water main and no one had caught it! Imagine that!”

“So, I guess we're headed home early.” Linda said in a deadpan. “We might even catch the boys before they have lunch.”

Candace beamed at Jeremy. He groaned internally, but externally he tried his best to return her enthusiastic smile, and he gave her a thumbs up. “Yes.” Jeremy turned to Linda with a raised eyebrow, “I suppose we might.”

Linda could only roll her eyes.

* * *

“5... 4... 3... 2... 1!”

The boys gleefully worked the controls to send the rocket up to outer space. By “boys”, I mean Phineas, because Ferb had yet again chosen to put his attention elsewhere. The rocket cleared the yard, leaving only the control panel. Isabella noticed Flint had run off someplace, but didn't care to know where. After all, with Ferb occupied, she basically had Phineas all to herself. The rocket was far out of distance when Phineas tapped another few buttons on the console, bringing up a user interface for the supply ray. “Now to test this thing!”

He clicked the button, and nothing happened. He clicked the button again. Nothing happened. Phineas rapidly tapped the button until Isabella tugged on his shirt sleeve. “Are you sure you want to do that? For all we know the inputs are just getting-”

Somewhere far over Danville, the ray began to rapidly fire.

“-delayed.” Phineas finished her sentence. “Uh oh.”

The console meant to send commands to the laser was the first thing to go. It shot upwards. Then a cardboard box full of space equipment (in case they needed to troubleshoot the satellite after they launched it). Then a potted plant wearing a fedora on the windowsill of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. It hit a few more objects, and in one case, a person. Finally, the laser turned upward and hit a neighboring satellite. The ray reflected off the dish and landed somewhere...”

* * *

“That's IT!” Baljeet was practically tearing his hair out in frustration. With the limited parts available, he was unable to construct his own rocket, and he couldn't think of another way to get it into orbit. This situation was the pits. If they didn't launch the satellite, then the circuit would be incomplete and all of the brother's work would be meaningless. Finally, seeing no reason to try anything serious, he stomped over to the satellite and kicked it.

At that moment, it mysteriously shot up into the sky.

“Woah,” Buford watched as the satellite disappeared, “You been working out too?”

* * *

“I think that was the last of the rays.” Phineas wiped his brow with relief. Suddenly, he heard a timer go off behind him. “Lunch!” He exclaimed. He put his arm around Isabella's shoulder and led her inside. “I insist you eat with us, since you put in all this hard work too.” He had set the table and sat her down when he opened his laptop. “And... connected!” The screen lit up with the faces of Buford and Baljeet.

“Hey, Phineas! Hey, Isabella!” Baljeet waved happily. “I may have some Hulk-power stuck in me, because you wouldn't believe what just happened!”

It was at this moment the Flynn-Fletchers and Johnsons came through the door. “Oh! There you are! Glad we caught you! Since the presentation got canceled, we figured we'd come home to eat with the boys. Isabella, we could invite your parents over as well!” Linda said.

“And it's good to see you got that pesky video chat connection working.” Lawrence interjected.

“That sounds great, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher!” Isabella grinned ear-to-ear. Linda, Lawrence, and the Johnsons headed over to the Garcia-Shapiros across the street to inquire, leaving only Candace, Phineas, and Isabella.

“Wait a second...” Candace counted the teenagers at the table. “Where's Ferb?”

The two choked on their food.

“DISTRACTED!” Phineas dashed out the door as fast as his moderately strong legs could carry him, leaving Isabella spinning in his wake.

* * *

You know, when you're floating in the cold vacuum of space, holding on to a satellite you launched, awaiting your rescue, you have the time to sit back and take stock of all the things that you've done recently. Most importantly, there was no cell service up here, so obviously Ferb could not distract himself any longer with his attempted courtship of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.

Perhaps Phineas was right. He did need to pay more attention. After all, just that day, he had almost hurt a good friend, and this was the second time that he had failed to move out of the way of an errant ray. He had managed, on his way up, to grab a space suit from the cardboard boxes, so he was just whistling to himself while he waited for a pickup.

As if on cue, he spotted a drone flying in the distance, ready to take him home in an escape pod that had been prepared from their last excursion to space. He sighed to himself. “Romance is exciting and all, but I guess it stands to reason I should take it slowly.” He was speaking to no one in particular, but it felt important to say.

**A/N: Another chapter put away! This may be the last one published bi-weekly, as I moved back home from school due to Covid-19 and am absolutely buried in digital schoolwork as well as having taken up pizza delivery. Don't worry, updates will come, but they may come just a mite slower. Honestly I was only able to work on this one for like 4 days in the past 2 weeks. As always, read and review if you wish.**

**Next Time:**

**Prenuptial Preparation Panic!**

**A wedding rehearsal! Isabella finally lands a date with Phineas... kinda, Phineas goes overboard, and Doofenshmirtz goes out to lunch.**


	6. Prenuptual Preperation Panic

**A/N: He's back again, and about time too. This time, I swear it's the last chapter with an alliterative name. Sorry for taking so long on this one, school is hard and I have far less privacy living with my parents.**

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Prenuptial Preparation Panic** _

“PHINEAS!”

Candace's voice practically shook the room. Phineas jolted awake and sat up in his bed.

“FERB!” Ferb had already been awoken by the previous yell, but nonetheless snapped his attention to the door in response to his name. Bracing for the worst, the two flinched as the door was practically blown off the hinges by Candace's foot. The boys put their hands over their eyes to shield themselves from the harsh light coming from the hallway. They watched as the figure of their sister loomed over them, her face indicating stress and sleep deprivation. “Thank God you two are up!” Phineas groggily looked towards the alarm clock. As expected, it was long before the usual time the two would wake up.

“Yeah, I guess we are now.” Phineas wiped his teary eyes, betraying a hint of annoyance. Ferb flopped over in his bed and put his pillow over his head. Candace sat down on the edge of Ferb's bed and pulled it off.

“Oh no you don't! Today is the day of the wedding's dress rehearsal, and you know what that means?”

“I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean 'wake up at 3 in the morning'.”

A tired looking Lawrence trudged into the room. “Candace, dear, it's very late-”

“Or early depending on how you look at it.” Ferb interjected, struggling to get his pillow back from his sister.

“-Thank you, Ferb. Point is, absolutely nobody wants to be awake at this hour on a saturda- Oh dear, the rehearsal.” Lawrence seemed to jerk awake. “In that case, carry on.” He walked over to Phineas and nudged him on the shoulder. “You'll understand when you're older, Phineas. This is just a thing women do.” Lawrence whispered. Phineas let out a small chuckle. “Just do try to take it all in stride.”

Lawrence yawned and left the room. Phineas sheepishly shrugged and turned to Candace. “Candace, you know as well as we do we work fast. Whatever parameters you need us to work with, you know we can hash it out over breakfast.”

“Alright, fine, but don't keep me waiting!”

Candace raised a hooked finger to Phineas' protruding nose. “But if I catch one whiff of you two going off-script with this one, you can bet there's someone I'm going to tell.” There was a faint threat to the tone. Phineas and Ferb considered that perhaps they should not have taken on this responsibility in the first place.

The bride-to-be stormed out of the room, leaving the boys almost too afraid to go back to sleep. Almost.

* * *

Flint was once again beating the unliving tar out of his practice dummy, having woken up at about 5:30 in the morning. Isabella was keeping an eye on him, leaning against the sliding door. She had begrudgingly decided to make him breakfast again. Phineas was right, she thought. The best thing to do when you're confronted with an enemy is to turn him into a friend, right? After all, when has Phineas ever been wrong?

Flint hoped she just liked watching him. He sat down at the table in the backyard and motioned towards her. “G'morning, Isabella! Why don't you have a seat?”

She paced over carefully. The girl sat down, resting her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. She narrowed her eyes, unable to help her suspicion. “So, what's the plan for today?”

“Oh, no big things...” Flint began. “... My boss, that guy I've been working with, has a little something for me to do while he's out having lunch with his daughter. Then later, I guess I'm headed to the Flynn-Johnson wedding rehearsal.” He eyed her cautious expression up and down. “You, uh... wanna come with?”

“Oh, believe me, I'll be there. Phineas always asks for my help with this kind of stuff.” She confidently asserted as she passed her housemate a plate of bacon and eggs. Flint looked down at the plate, then at her, then back down.

“Woah! Bacon!” He almost seemed to recoil. “Aren't you Jewish?”

“On my dad's side. This-” She picked up a piece from her own plate and bit off just a tiny bit. “-Is turkey bacon. Totally street-legal.” She let out a small laugh. “And between you and me, I'm not exactly adhering to all the codes if I can get away with it.”

Flint gave her a knowing glance and pinched his fingers together, motioning across his lips. “I won't tell.” He thought for a moment. “On the condition that you go to the rehearsal with me.” He smiled at her.

Isabella smiled facetiously. “Out of luck, there, pal. I'm going with Phineas. And to a lesser extent Ferb.” She pointed at herself with an air of smug self-satisfaction.

“Ooh! Then how about a bet?” He got up on the table, dumping the remaining eggs down his throat. He crouched down as he wiped his face with a napkin, getting to about Isabella's eye level. “If you can ask Phineas to go with you in some official capacity in the next hour, I'll back off, and what's more...” He dramatically paused. “...I'll quit it with the goo-goo eyes. Permanently. I can't help it, you know. Just watching him say some errant word or not notice some obvious flirtation.” Flint laid down on the table and turned his head to face the girl's. “If you seal the deal, I'll let you be. But you really oughta consider giving someone, anyone else, a shot.” He hopped off the table and strolled back through the sliding glass door.

Isabella angrily shouted through the door at him. “I'll have him in half an hour! DEAL!” Flint rubbed his hands together and grinned as he made his way down to the basement.. Now his evening was set, and his plan was foolproof. Isabella, meanwhile, slumped down at the table. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should consider giving someone else a shot. Phineas Flynn had been an occasional shining light of hope in three years of heartbreak and melancholy. She wouldn't be caught dead with, say, Flint, but there were plenty of guys around, right?

She shook the thoughts from her head. Now was not the time to focus on other things. Now was the time to put in one last-ditch effort to catch the attention of the handsome red-headed boy across the street.

* * *

It was Saturday morning, so Perry the Platypus was already at the residence of Heinz Doofenshmirtz. After a few years of fighting, Doofenshmirtz had softened up quite a bit, and was even being honest enough about his friendship with Perry that he frequently invited him over to breakfast. The usual day was Wednesday. Doof had created a platter of Drusselsteinian breakfast items, and they actually weren't half bad, especially since Perry was allowed to eat at the table.

“Well, that was a delicious meal, if I do say so myself.” Heinz wiped the grease from his chin using a handkerchief. Perry rubbed his stomach happily in reply. “Vanessa's actually been learning a thing or two about cooking lately. Just dove right into it after splitting with what-his-name.” Perry thought for a second that he might humor the idea that his nemesis didn't remember Monty Monogram's name, but that was frankly impossible. He was actually a great asset in getting Perry much-needed time off when the occasion arose and the OWCA had no agents available.

“Speaking of Vanessa... and food, I actually have a lunch date with her at a fancy restaurant. 'Le Ferb'. Figured I would take some of that alimony and treat her, you know. So no evil today, even if I do have the kid running a few tests.” Heinz started to clear the table. Perry held up his hands questioningly.

“Oh, you?” The man looked down at his mammalian companion. “Don't you have a family or something?”

Perry shrugged. Phineas and Ferb needed time to put together Candace's wedding, so he figured he could show up later that night, so he didn't have plans. It was at this moment Vanessa rang the door bell. Doofenshmirtz gladly received his daughter with a hug. “Vanessa! I was just having breakfast with Perry the Platypus-”

Perry waved from his spot across the table. Vanessa leaned out from behind Heinz and waved back. “Hey, Perry.”

“-Yes, hello, Perry the Platypus. We were just discussing how I had to kick him out for the rest of the day because we're going to lunch-”

“You can come to lunch with us, Perry!”

“-Yes, fine so as I was saying I had to-” Heinz stopped and grinned at his daughter. “I know how you hate me bringing work into family business- “

Vanessa once again interrupted. “I don't hate Perry! He's practically family! Look at his cute little face!”

Perry toothily smiled and shrugged to emphasize the point. Vanessa picked him up and smushed him up against her side. “Apparently having a pet platypus is pretty common in Danville.” Perry chattered comfortably as she stroked his fur. “I've got a friend who's been telling me about their eating habits, and they're actually pretty diverse. We could totally get him into the restaurant as long as he kept his funny little hat on.”

Perry wiped his face. He wasn't about to turn down a free meal.

* * *

Phineas and Ferb were trying their best to enjoy breakfast, but they were constantly badgered by Candace, who was sitting across the table from them. Her eyes were firmly affixed on the toast that Phineas was currently chewing on. The brothers looked at each other with discomfort. Phineas finally spoke up after what felt like hours. “Candace, can you quit staring at us? Or at least make yourself some breakfast?”

Candace leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “You guys need to chill out. I'm just making sure we're staying on timeline for today.”

Phineas was picking at his eggs with a fork, but stopped to casually point the end at his older sister. “Actually, I think you may be the high-strung one this morning.”

“She usually is.” Ferb leaned over and whispered. Phineas let out a small snicker and leaned back in his seat.

“Like I said, “ He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “We've got everything planned out. It's gonna be nice and traditional, just how you like it. Deliveries are already set to happen at the church later today.” He almost let the growing disdain for his task seep through his voice. I mean, if there were so many notes she wanted to give, why did she bother not just having a regular wedding planner in charge? His train of thought was interrupted by his phone's text tone. He whipped it out, scanned the message, and quickly got up from the table. “Ferb! The speaker guy is gonna be at the church in half an hour!”

Ferb wordlessly produced Candace's car keys from his pocket. Phineas smiled as Candace glared at him across the table. “Sneaky, Ferb, but it's still not legal for you to be driving me around. Let's take the bikes.”

The boys took off, leaving Candace in the dust. She gave a tense sigh and grabbed her keys off the table where Ferb had left them. She was in charge of picking up the “rehearsal cake”. Phineas had insisted that the rehearsal not be just a boring dinner, especially since, defying tradition, the rehearsal was planned for roughly a week before the wedding was to actually take place, due to Jeremy's hectic schedule at the observatory. She was just about to leave when she heard a knock at the door.

“Hey, kiddo.” Candace swung the door open to reveal a very nervous Isabella. Seemingly startled, Isabella took a step back.

“Oh, man. I- uh- I mean-” She stammered, words half-forming but not quite escaping her mouth. Candace snorted.

“You had this whole thing planned out and thought Phineas was gonna answer the door.”

Isabella's lip's tightened, then she shrugged in defeat. “Yeah, I guess that isn't the best idea. Is he here?”

Candace ruffled the other girl's hair. “Awww, that's so cute. I remember when I was like that.” Isabella glared at her, but her expression quickly became softer. She even smiled a bit. Candace snapped her fingers. “Shoot! You just missed him. He's down at the church sorting out the audio equipment.”

“Any chance I could catch him in the span of, say, about thirty minutes?” Isabella began calculating the distance to the church in her head.

“Why does that matter?”

* * *

Flint happily strolled up the stairs of DEI. Sure, there had been potholes on the bike route, he may have been attacked by a squirrel, and the elevator was out, but as far as he was concerned, his day was going very well. Secret trackers he had installed on all of his associates revealed that Phineas and Isabella weren't even going to meet in the next hour, so he didn't even have to rely on her nerves. About half the way up the stairs, he even thought he might whistle if he wasn't nearly out of breath. He passed by an equally tired Heinz, Vanessa, and Perry.

“Hey, boss.” He managed to mutter as he stumbled upwards.

“Hey, kiddo.” Heinz breathlessly spat out.

Flint continued up the stairs for some time before he even considered his employer's companions. “I thought he and the platypus were enemies?” He produced a key to the apartment and fumbled it into the keyhole. “Oh, well. A rose by any other name and all that.”

That's not at all what that phrase meant, like, not even ballpark. Not considering this, Flint stepped into the laboratory and caught his breath. Walking over to an obvious blue tarp. Grabbing the edge, he pulled it away to reveal a large mechanical suit. “The mech-suit-inator. Truly a masterpiece of evil engineering.” He deployed some of his reusable target dummies before he hopped into the cockpit to check the controls. The robot featured arms that could transform into other utilities, including missile launchers, swords, even a Y7-rated Gatling Gun. Additionally, there was a gun that shot Christmas lights. Not sure about that one. He cracked his knuckles before turning on the power supply.

“Alright...” He looked at the checklist on the console. “Gatling gun.” Flint pressed a button. The gun shredded the target to pieces, leaving some bullet holes in the wall behind it. The boy thought for a moment before clicking a button on his phone. The target reset, but this time it had a striking resemblance to Phineas Flynn. “Check.”

Rubbing his hands together, Flint smiled before he loosed a missile at the target. “Missiles.” The target was a smoldering waste. “Check.”

A loud timer went off before he could reach the next item, surprising him slightly. Regaining his composure, he whipped out his phone and placed a call. There was a brief dial tone before he heard heavy breathing on the other end. “What, Flint?”

“Time's up, Izzy. Lemme guess, it's a go for tonight?”

He tried his best to contain a laugh at the defeated heave on the other end. “I didn't even get to try.”

Flint put his feet up on the console, pressing a button. “Well, if he had really cared to have you along, don't you think he would have talked to you?”

A barrage of knives flew from the left arm of the machine, producing a series of loud clangs. Flint covered his ears as he dropped his phone. When the noise has subsided, all he could make out beneath the ringing in his ears was Isabella.

“What was that noise?”

“Uhhhh, interference. Anyways I'm busy so gottaletyougoseeyatonightbye!”

“But you called-” Isabella started before Flint quickly hung up the phone. He took a deep breath before resuming his tasks.

* * *

The nerve of that guy! Isabella angrily slammed her phone into a pocket as she caught her breath. The irony of the situation was that she was actually right outside the church where the boys were signing some papers.

“Hey, Isabella!” Phineas looked up from his clipboard to greet his friend. “Did you come early to help out? I totally forgot to get you this morning, Candace was rushing us.”

Isabella faked a smile. “Yup, here to help.” She made a mental note to break Candace in half later. “So, uh, what did you have for me to do?”

Phineas thought for a second. “I guess I didn't actually set aside anything for you to do, per se, I was thinking that you might...” Phineas scanned the table before his eyes landed on some signage. “Hang these up!” He handed the girl the supplies. “Otherwise, you know, just hang out. Maybe we could grab some lunch at that place Ferb and I own, it's just a block from here.”

Isabella huffed slightly before grabbing a sign and a ladder. She climbed up and was just about to pin in one side of the large sign. Phineas cleared his throat.

“So, Isabella, are you going with anyone to the rehearsal tonight?”

“Unfortunately”. The girl muttered under her breath. Phineas caught it, and seemed surprised. She quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, it's just, ugh, bad timing.”

Phineas looked a bit perturbed. “Bad timing?”

“Uh, I just, uh, gave my, uh- Flint. Flint and I kinda had a bet and I kinda lost and now I'm... going out with him. I mean, coming here, with him.”

Phineas expression gave way to shock for a second before he huffed outward. “A bet?”

“Yeah, a bet. It really doesn't mean anything, trust me.”

“Oh!” Phineas perked up, but there was still an edge to his mannerisms. He seemed, at the least, relieved. “What was the bet?”

Now it was Isabella's turn to be nervous. “I'd rather not say.”

Phineas nodded. He figured it must be something embarrassing. “Huh. Well, at least you're not convinced he's trying to kill us.” Phineas jested. He was suddenly uncharacteristically interested in inspecting the speakers that had just been delivered.

Uh oh, Isabella thought. Did I make a mistake there? She looked up at the sign she had just put up. It was blank.

* * *

The Doofenshmirtzes sat down at their table at “Le Ferb.” Perry slid up a toddler seat and got comfortable. A waiter came by, dressed in the purple slacks and dress shirt mandated as the uniform, and handed them their menus. “Hey there! I'm Gerald, I'll be your host this afternoon, so if you need anything, feel free to just ask.

“I would like you to know before we even start here that I don't intend to tip.” Heinz flatly stated. Perry and Vanessa glared at him, leaning in.

“Dad, I thought you weren't doing evil today.”

“Alright, alright. 10 percent.”

The waiter shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know how to respond to this situation.”

“Maybe we could start with drinks?” Vanessa apologetically suggested.

* * *

Flint had almost finished his checklist, leaving only the basic movement controls. “Alright, last thing.” He turned the mechanical legs to face the outside balconies. The assistant pushed forwards on the thrusters, and the machine responded in kind. “Turning and acceleration... check.” Flint pumped the brakes. The brakes did not work.

Suddenly, the mech-suit-inator stumbled over the side of the balcony.

“Ok... brakes...” Flint struggled to write while plummeting to the streets below, “... need work.”

* * *

Phineas was hard at work making his sister's wedding the best it could possibly be, and as long as there's room for improvement, he wasn't going to stop. Ferb tugged at his brother's shoulder, finally managing to pull him away from the eighth set of speakers he had installed in the church sanctuary.

“What?” Phineas snapped. Ferb blinked at him blankly. “You're right, Ferb, sorry. That did seem pretty aggressive.” Ferb produced a remote from his pocket and pressed the speaker test tone. Immediately, a low, dull tone emanated from the speakers, shaking the entire building.

“Hey, if we want improved sound quality, we need to have as many audio output points as possible!”

Ferb pointed at the disco laser-light system that had suddenly appeared on the ceiling above them just a few minutes earlier.

“I know she just needed the mood lighting, but I figured just in case-”

Ferb pointed at the chocolate fountain that had recently sprung up on the center stage.

“We need that! Who doesn't love a chocolate fountain?”

Ferb pointed at the massive holographic projection of Candace and Jeremy floating in the center of the sanctuary, above the pews.

“It's like that thing at the top of wedding cakes! You know the one! But better!”

Ferb swept his arm out at the northwestern corner of the room, where a variety of bizarre electronic carnival games had been set up. A dunk tank was leaking a small amount of water on the carpet.

“You know it wouldn't be one of our events without some fun and games?”

Ferb motioned towards Isabella, who was staring glumly at the pair from atop her ladder. Next to her was the fifth blank sign Phineas had insisted she put up. “Am I supposed to be writing on these?”

“Yeah, I'm gonna be honest, there's no good reason for that one.”

“There's no good reason for any of this, Phineas. You know Candace wanted something simple, and you still took it to our usual standard.”

“W- well- I just thought she might like-”

“You and I both know this isn't about Candace, Phineas.”

“Of course it is!”

“Are you sure you're not just-” Ferb glanced over at Isabella, who was still staring at the two intently. “-Acting out?”

Phineas' started to look a little frustrated. “No, I'm SURE-” His tone was harsher than Ferb had heard in a long time. “-This is BETTER.”

Ferb felt a little anger at his brother's insensitive tone, but tried to remain calm. “This isn't better. It's different. Different from how Candace wants it. She trusted us with this, and she's gonna be here in two hours, and she's going to freak out.”

“If you don't like it, you can-” Phineas stammered, “-butt out!”

Ferb huffed angrily. “You know what? I don't have to take this from you. I need a break.” he stepped down the ladder and stormed out towards the sanctuary's exit. He turned back to his brother, whose face still reflected a stressed anger. “I'm going for a walk.”

“You do that.” Phineas coldly turned back to his work. Isabella would normally be thrilled to be stuck alone with Phineas, but he was unreadable. The air was palpably tense.

Ferb needed to clear his head, so he headed down the block to treat himself to some lunch.

* * *

Vanessa and Heinz had finally managed to stumble through the ordering process and were just about to receive their food. Gerald placed a series of trays on the table in one swift motion. Vanessa had ordered a turkey sandwich, Perry a shrimp salad, and Doofenshmirtz a plain hamburger. “This is the litmus test for a decent restaurant. Any good place has a good hamburger.” Vanessa rolled her eyes. “No, no, no, really. Slushee burger? Crap hamburger. That's how you can tell. That way I don't have to try the whole menu.”

Heinz bit into his burger. “Mmmm... that's pretty good.” He chewed the burger, savoring the whole burger-esque experience. Suddenly he wretched and spat out a small hair. “Now that-” He looked very closely at the chunk of hamburger with the bit of hair peeking out. “- is disgusting. Hair in food is only a thing in Drusselsteinian cuisine. Excuse me, waiter?”

“Dad, please don't make a big deal about this-”

“Don't worry, sweetie, I won't embarrass you.” Gerald arrived at the table just as Heinz reassured his daughter.

“Is there something I can do for you, sir?”

“Yes.” Heinz paused. The 'ding' of the entrance bell rang. “You can get your manager.” Vanessa slumped and put her face down on the table, groaning.

Ferb approached the table. “You're speaking with him.”

“Ferb? You own-” Vanessa looked up at the boy. “Oh. _Le Ferb._ ”

“May I sit?”

Heinz was a bit confused about the whole situation, and even more confused when he discovered that Perry the Platypus was missing. Ferb moved aside the empty child seat, and firmly planted himself in the booth next to Vanessa. Heinz glared at the interloper. “Aren't you a little young to be the owner and manager of a downtown eating establishment?”

Ferb shrugged.

“Well, in any case, I have a hair in my food and would like to request a refund.”

“How about a remake? I won't charge for the meal.” Ferb responded.

“Fine, I guess. Wow, that was way easier than usual. I even had this little -inator with me that would destroy all the technology within a large radius in the case that my service was unsatisfactory.”

“I am doing so much more talking than I meant to today, and would like to keep to a minimum.” There was a short pause before Ferb processed the rest of the sentence. “Wait a second, you have what?”

* * *

Isabella watched from her ladder perch as Phineas angrily played some carnival games. Specifically, he was angrily shooting at a large LCD screen with those little digital ducks with that little plastic gun. He wasn't very good at it.

“Ack!” A metallic clang rang out as Phineas put a small hole in the wall of the sanctuary. Perhaps it was too realistic. “Those darn... ducks! Am I right, Izzy?” He looked towards her, as if hoping for some kind of frustrated duck-solidarity. The teenage girl staring down at him let her eyes wander around the room.

“Phineas, are you freaking out or something? Because this whole-” She waved around the room “-thing is really getting to me. Why not just do what Candace said?”

“BECAUSE-” Phineas holstered the gun and paused. His typical demeanor finally collapsed as he breathed out a heavy sigh. “Because I build when I'm stressed. You know that.”

“And what's got you so stressed?”

Phineas put his palms together and breathed in deeply. “You, and uh-” He snapped his fingers. “-what's-his-face. Getting all close. The dynamic changes, and it kinda throws me off.”

“You don't have to pretend to forget his name, Phin. You have literally never forgotten anyone's name.”

“You don't have to worry about him, Phin.” She hopped down the ladder and landed right in front of him. She pulled him in to a hug. “The dynamic between us-” She tightened it ever so slightly “-will never change.”

The two separated, staring at each other for a moment before Isabella remembered that she was madly infatuated with Phineas, and promptly began inspecting the ceiling for cobwebs. Phineas scratched the back of his neck subconsciously. “And I've got no problem with Flint. I mean what's-his-face.” He glanced at his watch, his relief turning into panic. “Oh, jeez! Candace is arriving with the cake in ten minutes! There's no way I can get rid of all this useless fluff before then!”

“We can try!” Isabella exclaimed. They urgently took to dismantling the carnival, which seemed far easier for Phineas to have put together alone than the two of them could take apart together. “Wow, this is a bad time for quality craftsmanship.”

“I know! I know! We need Ferb!” Phineas exclaimed, dashing out the door and leaving Isabella in a cloud of dust. She coughed in his wake but quickly followed, still unable to keep pace with the boy.

* * *

“So you're telling me that this device is able to just magically knock out any nearby technology? Like an EMP wave?”

“Well, first of all, it's not magic, and second of all, it doesn't just knock it out. It destroys it, like 'poof!'” Doofenshmirtz made jazz hands. “And it leaves behind no trace.”

Ferb was now infinitely more interested in this device than he was with the second round of food or for that matter, Vanessa. She could only look on in boredom as he inspected it from every angle. It was about the size and shape of a potato, with two buttons, one labeled “destruct” and one labeled “self-destruct”.

“So how does it work?” Ferb strained his vocal chords.

“Well, you press the button-” Ferb quickly slapped Heinz' hand away from the remote “- and then all the technology around it goes 'poof!'-” Jazz hands “- and it leaves behind no trace.”

Ferb was just about to find a good candidate for demonstration when Phineas burst through the door.

“Hah! I figured you were here! We need your help destroying all that dumb stuff I added to the mock wedding!” Phineas knelt in front of the table and bowed his head in shame. “I'm sorry I told you to butt out and that my stupid ideas were good and that I used your toothbrush this morning!” Really, confessions were just spilling out.

“You don't need to say anything. I have had to speak six times since I left the church and frankly any more and I'm out for the week. All is forgiven.” Ferb coughed raspily to emphasize the point. Phineas quickly hugged his brother and then dragged him off, Ferb barely managing to swipe the remote off the table before they headed back to the church.

Sprinting down the sidewalk, the two passed a confused Isabella, who slowed down as she gasped for air. “I have to stop doing this.” She readjusted her slumped posture with her hands as she doggedly doubled back. “The Flynn-Fletchers are a force of nature.” Her pace was slower than before as she hobbled after the two.

* * *

Phineas and Ferb arrived at the church with minutes to spare. “Quick! Help me pack this stuff up!” Phineas dashed around the room frenetically. Ferb remained calm, raising the device he had taken from the Doofenshmirtzes and pressing “destruct”. Immediately, the device disappeared. For a few seconds there was nothing but the noise of Phineas unplugging wires and moving components. Then, all of it disappeared. The games, the fountain, the holograms... and the lights. The room darkened completely. Suddenly, a loud CRASH was heard outside the building, alongside an explosion. The light blinded the brothers as they were suddenly wrapped in cable.

The duo set to untangling themselves from the strange cable. “What the -? Christmas lights?” Helping Ferb out of the last of his constraints, Phineas grabbed him by the hand and led them outside. A smoldering wreck lay before them, but more importantly, their friend(?), Flint, had finally shown up to help.

“Light launcher, check.”

Phineas and Ferb could only look on in shock at the wreckage. Flint grabbed Ferb's leg.

“Help, please.” the soot covered Flint weakly managed to sputter before putting his face down on the asphalt and letting his consciousness slip away. This shook the Flynn-Fletchers into action. Phineas grabbed at his hair.

“We've gotta get him to the hospital! I'll call an ambulance!”

Ferb was glad no one was asking him to talk any more today, so he set to the task of getting their friend(?) off of the street and onto a makeshift bed of blank signs. Isabella finally managed to catch up to the group but came to a stop at the disastrous scene before her. Perry nonchalantly rubbed up against her leg as she came to a stop.

Ferb stared at his pet for a moment before Isabella noticed him. “Oh, there you are, Perry.” Isabella picked up the platypus and cradled him in her arms like a baby. Ferb breathed a sigh of relief. “What can I do to help?” she set the animal down by Ferb.

Ferb stared at her for a few seconds wordlessly. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Just put the new lights up or something, Isabella.” He barely managed to rasp out.

“Jeez, you didn't have to be a jerk about it.” She huffed sarcastically as she walked into the church, where Phineas was on the phone.

“Yeah, he's here by Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated and the First Baptist of Danville. He's not too badly hurt, which is strange considering he appears to have been in a vehicle accident of some sort but there could be some internal bleeding, so you need to get down here right away!”

Phineas exhaled as he closed the phone. Isabella was already quickly putting up the lights, which were luckily white and not multicolored. The way the light reflected off the cream paint in the sanctuary gave off a sense of ethereal beauty.

“Wow! Now THAT looks good!” Phineas grinned as he made a note to get a new audio system ready. “Speaking of, it, uh, kinda looks like you're free tonight.”

“Phineas! He could have been killed!” Isabella yelled down from her position on the ladder.

“But he wasn't, so that joke's okay, right?”

“Pffft. It's just-” Isabella dusted off her hands as she hopped down from the ladder. “-you've never been the type to be insensitive. Intentionally, I mean.”

Isabella started towards the doors of the sanctuary. “Hey, the blast could have got me and Ferb, too! This is my coping mechanism!” Phineas trailed along after her. The pair finally stood outside, where a group of street cleaners were disposing of the robot parts.

Then they started to laugh.

Candace was standing off to the side, alone, carrying a cake.

“Mom's not gonna see this one, either, is she?” She sighed in defeat. “But I always have to.” One of the street cleaners looked up at her.

“It's actually pretty common that we have killer robit parts and all that coming out of that there buildin' actually so, yeah. We've gotten purdy good at cleanin' up.”

“Killer? Robot parts?” Isabella suddenly broke out of her elated state. Phineas, however, had not heard any of it. The girl rolled her eyes, then looked up at Candace. She took Candace's hand and excitedly led her inside the building.

“Woah! This place looks crazy! Leave it to Phineas and Ferb to go completely off-script and still manage to deliver something I didn't know I wanted.”

“For the record, this was mostly my doing.” Isabella put her hands on her hips as she beamed up triumphantly. “And I guess a little bit Flint's.”

“Also, we're gonna need a new audio system and we're probably gonna have to replace all the stuff damaged in the explosion,” she casually admitted as she left the sanctuary to gather the rest of the wedding party to take them to the hall where dinner was taking place.

“Wait, was there a second explosion?”

* * *

“So that's where the little green fella went.” Heinz arrived, Vanessa in tow, at the First Baptist of Danville just as the wedding party arrived. It consisted of the Johnsons, the Flynn-Fletchers, the Garcia-Shapiros, and a few of Candace's other friends. Candace noticed Vanessa and smiled at her.

“Hey, V! Is that your dad? You should totally join us, we're gonna have a rehearsal dinner for my wedding!”

“Uh, sure.” Vanessa glanced at her father. “You're getting married?”

“Oh, man!” Candace slapped her forehead. “I guess we have a lot to catch up on. I've been out of town at law school for the past few years.”

“That's crazy. Congrats.”

“So, how's the secret agent thing going?”

“It's kinda on the backburner, right now, you know... complications.” Her eyes didn't quite meet Candace's. The other woman sensed that she should just let it lie. “Is it that Johnson guy?” Vanessa inquisitively leaned in. Candace beamed ear-to-ear.

“Who else?”

Heinz, meanwhile, was more interested in his young protege, who was being lifted on a stretcher into an ambulance. “Oh my gosh! Are you alright, kiddo?”

Flint briefly regained consciousness. “Check... the... brakes...” His head slumped back over as he fell asleep. Heinz looked on as the ambulance rushed off.

* * *

The rehearsal dinner went swimmingly. Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, and some of the Fireside Girls sat in the corner, joking around. That is to say, everyone but Ferb joked around. Candace and Vanessa exchanged contact details and caught up on old times. The adults discussed boring, adult things, like antiquing, space, and Joseph's time at sea.

Heinz nudged Ferb, and tried not to make eye contact with the glaring platypus sitting on the teen's lap. “Hey, the device you swiped earlier... where did it go?”

Phineas butt in. “Turns out, it worked a bit too well. It destroyed itself along with the electronics in the sanctuary.”

Doofenshmirtz sat back. On one hand, glorious success. On the other hand, he no longer had the device to threaten local eateries with. “Pretty cool, though, huh?”

Ferb nodded as he stroked Perry in his lap. The platypus happily chirped.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this one out, phew! It's been... what, a month? Finals at school, relocating to my parents, building a computer and finding a job... it's been a trip. Ooh, I also got absolutely addicted to Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is now my second favorite cartoon of all time. I've really enjoyed writing these chapters late at night though, so I'm going to try to be more consistent. Please, tell me what you thought. I'm trying to strike the balance between dramatic and humorous at this point.**

**NEXT TIME: Double Vision**

**Extra-dimensional travelers cause trouble for the boys! Doofenshmirtz seeks revenge for the death of a dear friend! Flint continues to be thirsty!**


	7. Double Vision

**A/N: This chapter is longer. Significantly longer. Partially as an apology for taking so long on the last and partially because I decided to juggle 4 plots and it's a bit crazy. Definitely still having a lot of fun, though, and I've already learned some world-building do's and dont's through trial and error. I'm glad to see all the support! Just knowing I have readers enjoying my work is spectacular!**

**Review responses:**

**Jetzflare: Thanks for reading! Phineas has never actually cared if Linda saw things, in fact in a few cases he seems upset that he can't show her. The boys don't know it would carry negative consequences, but what the boys know won't hurt them. I've totally got a vague explanation for Milo in mind, but I haven't found a way to naturally work it in to the story yet. It's a mystery to you for now :^) You may have noticed Doofenshmirtz stopped being good after trying it out for a bit. Also, I was sure not to make Vanessa talk in specifics about OWCA. She never even mentions it by name. Just a "secret agent thing", which I think in Danville is pretty reasonable. Candace-164 will show up sooner or later.**

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Double Vision** _

The time was 6AM. The sun had long since risen, but underneath the Flynn-Fletcher residence, deep in the panic room, a two people appeared in a pitch-black room.

"Sir!" The faint light from a tablet illuminated the room somewhat. The short, brown haired girl in the gray beret and military fatigues pointed the light in front of her, causing her "sir" to flinch.

"Gretch!" Suzanne couldn't help the bit of annoyance that came with her voice. "My eyes are adjusted to the darkness!" She covered her eyes with one hand and ran her other hand along the wall of the room, eventually grazing a light switch. "There!" She clicked it.

A cold, artificial light activated above them. The two blinked uncomfortably until they managed to regain their senses. Suzanne put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "I wasn't sure that would work, but if Phineas could build it..." She trailed off. "Status report. What dimension are we in?"

"Well, sir, I can't tell exactly, but it SHOULD be the one Phineas fled to after creating the dimension bubble." Gretchen adjusted her glasses slightly. She looked at her boss, and realized that her usually bright blonde hair and beret had become dirty and singed. The fatigues and beret the other teenaged Firestorm Girl wore were also mucky and slightly burnt.

"Heh. Of course. Until a few weeks ago I had no idea there was such a thing as another dimension." Suzanne patted herself down and tried to scrape some of the dirt off of her lackey. "Who knows? This could be, like, the only other one."

"Phineas tends to blind us with the impossibilities of the universe as often as he can, sir." Gretchen thought for a moment. "He also mentioned that we were dimension 164, so there's at least that many."

Suzanne huffed outwards and produced a small notepad from her rear pocket. "I have the cloaking devices." She passed her friend a small circular object, which Gretchen promptly attached to her hip. "Step 2 is to figure out just how similar this universe is to ours."

"Dimension, sir."

"What's the difference?"

Gretchen didn't really have an answer. Instead, she looked at the notepad, prompting Suzanne to elaborate on her plan.

"Step 3, if it's necessary, is to replace our counterparts. Otherwise we just need a place to stay. Step 4, we capture Phineas and make him find a way to rebuild our universe."

"Hopefully he cooperates."

"C'mon, Gretch, what are the odds?"

"Well, he would probably be interested in getting Candace and his parents back."

Suzanne rolled her eyes. "Dude's a textbook psychopath, Gretchen. He didn't care about his sister, and he sure as heck doesn't care about his parents."

"But-"

"Stop." Suzanne put her hand out in front of Gretchen's face. She then clicked the cloaking device on her hip. Gretchen disappeared along with her. "We can hope for the best, but we ought to prepare for the worst. He could have-" What seemed like the beginning of tears formed in the air before the cloaking device vanished them, too. "-killed her. And my brother."

"It's likely we can get them back. You said so yourself."

"Oh, and he's lucky. If Jeremy's gone, I'm tearing that scum apart limb from limb."

* * *

"You think Baljeet would be mad if we did the pocket dimension zoo without him?"

Ferb shrugged. Phineas and Ferb's parents had not gotten up yet, and neither had Candace. Perry had joined the two for breakfast, and was eating up on the table. The night before had been a bit wilder than anticipated, especially after Lawrence broke out some alcohol he intended for the adults. The long and short of it is that Ferb and some of the other kids snuck a few drinks and Phineas and Isabella had a crappy time as designated bikers.

Suddenly, a pattering of footsteps behind Ferb alerted him to a presence. He quickly looked behind him, and saw that his ears had decieved him. Must just be some lasting effects. He downed his third glass of water that morning, all the while listening to his brother's pitches.

"Is something the matter, Ferb? You get a hangover?" Phineas stopped to inquire. As was the duty of a good friend, brother, and son, Phineas had made breakfast for the two of them, and had ingredients set out for when the others awoke. Ferb waved off his suspicion. He wished he had been allowed to sleep in later.

Phineas continued to drone on, like he does, and Ferb couldn't help but find his thoughts wandering, mostly ruminating on the events of the previous night.

* * *

"Ferb! How old are you?" Vanessa glared at the young man.

"16, ma'am. 16 and a half." Ferb jokingly put his hands up in the air. "Lock me up. I've commited a sin." His words were slightly slurred.

Vanessa laughed. "I'm not even old enough for that stuff." She took a sip of her wine. "Officially." Luckily, her dad had gone home shortly after inspecting the church sanctuary for evidence of the techno-destructinator.

"19, right?" Ferb leaned back slightly. Man, a little alcohol did wonders to loosen a person's lips. He seemed to forget he hated speaking.

"20 soon." Vanessa looked a little wistful suddenly. "And jeez, I have not done half of the things you have."

"Well, who has? I'm a legendary thrill-seeker, adventurer and world-traveller. And you know what?"

"What?" Vanessa leaned forward on the table, facing him with interest.

"It's not the reason I'm happy."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Jeez, you're gonna give me some schpiel about how family is the most important thing, right?"

Ferb grabbed Phineas and slung his arm around his brother's shoulder. Phineas looked annoyed.

"I was talking to someone."

"You have all night to flirt with your girlfriend, Phin. Now, I'm trying to prove a point."

"I was talking to Ginger." Ferb quickly clamped his hand over Phineas' mouth as he grinned at Vanessa.

"Look at this guy. I love him. His boundless enthusiasm for the unknown and all that is great, but that's not why I love him. But I love him because he's always been there for me. He's always trying to figure out how he can make my life better."

"Gross." Phineas spat. Teenagers, right? Ferb poked his younger brother in the ribs before releasing him.

Ferb turned his attention back to Vanessa, who was listening more intently than he realized. "It wouldn't matter if Phineas was a spectacular failure at it, because if we're being honest..." Ferb leaned in close so his brother wouldn't overhear. "Sometimes he is. You find people like THAT. People willing to try. For you."

"Ferb, is this supposed to be some kind of pep talk for my relationship with my Dad? Did he put you up to this?"

Ferb thought for a second. "You and your Dad don't get along?"

"Well, I guess I sit corrected."

* * *

Ferb's flashback was interrupted by a sudden slam from the backyard. It was quiet enough that his brother, who was now sketching out an idea on some notebook paper, did not notice. Phineas had drafted up a large laser-tag arena. "Mom won't mind us burrowing underground if we replace the lawn before the end of the day! I'll see if I can't get some of our usual providers to get us some materials!"

Ferb looked around the room, missing their third breakfast mate. "And while you're at it, ask them where Perry is."

* * *

Perry had hopped underneath the floorboards, donning his signature leather fedora. He felt around in a small bunch of insulation to find a button, which caused the insulation to part, revealing a plastic tube. He quickly jumped down the newly-greased tube and slid down, dropping into his chair. He looked up attentively at the monitor, which came to life displaying the typical image of his Commanding Officer.

"Good morning, Agent P! We finally paid someone to grease the tubes and the slides."

Perry rubbed his back to assuage the painful memories.

"Anyways, Doofenshmirtz is definitely up to something today. He's been studying the growing habits of plant life and the effects of sunlight on photosynthesis. He's also purchased a bag of fertilizer at a local plant store and a book about necromancy from an online retailer. This surely spells trouble, and the T is capitalized. Perhaps there's an exclamation point after the E. Put a stop to it!"

The agent saluted and jumped into the hover-car, dashing off to DEI.

* * *

Buford and Baljeet went snowboarding. There's nothing much to elaborate on, as it was fairly uneventful. However, a leg injury that may have been intentionally caused by one party resulted in a tearful call home and an expedited ticket back to the United States. The good news is, they'll be in Danville late tonight. Their subplot for this episode would have been waiting at the airport, which is for the most part terribly boring, and as such I have chosen to omit it.

* * *

Isabella was in no position to go snowboarding. She was also tired from the hectic events of the last evening. So tired, in fact, that she was totally and completely unable to move her body.

Oh, wait.

Those are restraints. She was restrained in a chair.

Isabella looked around the room. A dim orange light came from the warm black rock floor beneath her. There were several computer consoles, desks and three metal doors. One was labeled "Laboratory", one was labeled "Lavatory", and the third was not labeled at all. She could faintly see the sky through a small hole if she craned her neck up. She decided it wasn't worth the effort, and settled back into the plush red chair that she would have described as "very comfortable" if not for the clasps that were keeping her wrists and ankles tied to it.

"Aw, crap, sorry. I forgot to turn those off." It was a familiar voice over a PA system.

The clasps released. Isabella lazily rose from her chair. "Wait a second, Iz, you're gonna want to be seated for this one." It clicked with her suddenly.

"Phineas?"

"Uh, yes." Phineas appeared from a large metal door labeled "Lavatory". He zipped up his pants and dusted them off as he approached the chair. Isabella cautiously sat back down. "And no." Isabella sprang back up, but was quickly stopped by Phineas' hand on her chest.

"So I was figuring we didn't have our date yesterday-"

"Date?" Isabella prodded, excitement seeping through the sarcasm.

"Yeah, while I was in the hospital-"

"Hospital?" Isabella was now thoroughly confused.

"Oh." Phineas grabbed some of his bright red hair and pulled it downwards. "I forgot to put on the disguise."

There was a solid minute of silence before Isabella's brain could catch up to the present. "F-Flint?" It sounded like a faint wheeze.

"Yeah."

Silence remained a recurring theme.

"What?" Isabella looked him up and down. He looked exactly like him. Him being Phineas. And the other him being... also Phineas.

"So anyways," Flint figured he would have to pick up the slack in this conversation. "I'm a Phineas. One of many 'Phine-ai.'" Air quotes. "I had like a whole elaborate reveal for it set up but I guess I didn't flash my holographic disguise when I finished using the john so that's..." He waved goodbye to some invisible plan.

"But-" Isabella was regaining her senses. "How?"

Flint snapped his fingers. "Good question. I fled here after I... my home dimension got destroyed. By someone."

"This is crazy."

"See, now we're on the same page. I'm noticing a lot of subtle differences. The biggest of which is you."

"This is... nuts." Isabella gripped her scalp with both hands.

"Exactly. And I think I figured it out. In my universe, your mom marries someone entirely different. Brown instead of black hair. Handlebar mustache instead of the poofy thing Joe keeps on his lip. Irish, not Jewish."

"This is... outrageous!" Isabella's confusion changed to fury in an instant. She pushed herself off of the chair and shot into Flint, tackling him to the ground. She put her hands around his neck and began to squeeze.

"Okay-" Flint managed to get out, "-I understand you like Phineas and all but this is a bit out of my comfort zone-"

"I might actually kill you, you underhanded slime!"

"Oh." Flint tried to gulp but he was constricted. Instead, he brought his legs up and managed to push Isabella upward and off of him. He jumped to his feet as quickly as she did. Both took martial arts positions, but Flint's was decidedly more theatrical and less practical. "See, that's something that Suzanne might say."

"Suzanne's a smarter girl than I am, I guess." Isabella huffed as she and Flint began to circle the room slowly. Isabella started glancing around, taking notes. Flint had home field advantage, so she needed to know potential exits. Clearly, the doors that were labeled were not exits. By process of elimination, that left two candidates: The hole in the ceiling (Which would require superhuman climbing ability) or the unlabeled metal door (Which would require walking through it).

Flint grinned roguishly as he watched her watch him. "C'mon, there are other ways we could settle this spat."

"Get over yourself. You're not Harrison Ford, you can't make chauvinism attractive." Isabella rolled her eyes. Something about this guy just brought out a state of heightened emotion.

"Another example would be Phineas Flynn. He's as dangerous as I am, easily, but he puts up this facade of a good-natured, fun-loving, all-American teenager that masks it."

"are you suggesting he's had me fooled for the better part of ten years?"

"You're a fool for him as much as he's a fool for himself." Flint's voice reflected resentment. "Imagine if that kid had a bad day. Maybe a bad week, a bad month, a bad year. Him and Ferb could easily be super-villains."

"What, like you? An unfeeling monster? Willing to kill teenagers, and for what?" Isabella was thinking clearer now, and she was able to keep a level tone.

"I'm not trying to kill you." Flint was now indignant. "I just think it would be best for everyone if I... did what was necessary to get my dimension back." He shrugged.

Isabella planted her feet in the ground, and glared at him, as if daring him to elaborate.

"Okay, so basically, there's this balance of the universe type energy-"

"Probability ions. I'm not stupid."

"Yeah, Probability ions, you're not stupid. Basically, I need to get a giant bubble of those."

"Why?"

"I've drafted plans for a machine that could rebuild my universe, but it has such a slim chance of working that the only way I can see it doing so is pure luck. They have positive ions, I could absorb those ions should they be..." Flint dragged his fingers across his neck. Truth told, he had his reservations. "You know, it's two guys for my entire universe."

"If you just need the ions, why not just ask the boys for help?" Isabella was practically interrogating him at this point. This was actually good, he noted. Peer review.

"I really ought not to tell you." He chuckled. Then he made the mistake of blinking.

_Bam!_ Isabella had hit him right in the chest with a flying crane kick. He stumbled back, hitting the wall and bouncing back off of it slightly. Isabella grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him back into the wall face-first, giving him only a second to catch a kick aimed at his neck. He dodged under it, grabbed it, and used the momentum to slam her foot into the rock wall. Isabella recoiled in pain. Flint wagered his nose might be broken, and Isabella thought her toes might be.

"You know, I think I've gotten to the bottom of my problem with you, Flint." Her words came out in a hiss. "You're like some kind of nightmare version of him. Some awful other world where everything is corrupted and sick."

"Hey, we do have a couple things in common." He spat out some blood. "We both like you quite a bit." Isabella couldn't help but feel sickened by the thought of hurting Phineas, which gave her opponent enough time to move. Flint opened a desk drawer and whipped out what appeared to be a laser gun. Isabella came to her senses and cartwheeled out of the way just as ice splintered in a pillar where her body had just been. She sprinted for the unlabeled door, narrowly outrunning the rays. Flint huffed slightly as she disappeared beyond the door.

"3... 2..." Flint didn't even finish counting before he heard the mechanical whirring of a trap door, a short yell, and a thud. He jogged jauntily through the hallway beyond the door to look down the smooth, metallic pit the girl had fell into. "Now that I'm up here and you're down there, perhaps we could discuss this in further detail. Have you ever considered being queen of the multiverse?"

"I just did. Get bent."

* * *

Ferb cautiously ventured out into the backyard. He motioned for his brother to shush. Phineas slid off of his chair and tiptoed over to the sliding door, cringing as he stepped on a creaky floorboard. Ferb looked around the backyard, noticing the door was open.

"Isabella?" Ferb figured maybe she had just walked into their house earlier, but why would she not have revealed herself?

"I think she's playing a joke on us, Ferb." Phineas opened the door wider, looking into his front yard. He took a look at the ground and realized that the grass was depressed in the shape of a footprint. "Woah! Cloaking tech!"

"He's on to us, chief!" A small, panicked voice was clearly audible. All that followed was the scuffling of shoes across the street, over to the Garcia-Shapiro residence. Phineas was confused. He never did understand girls. "Hey, Ferb, did that sound like Gretchen or Ginger to you?"

* * *

Suzanne and Gretchen-164 scrambled up the side of the Garcia-Shapiro residence, sliding open the unlocked window and slipping in through it, flopping on to the bed in a huff. The girls heaved with shaky breath for a few seconds before Suzanne turned her head to look at her friend.

"Great work, Gretch! Now our worst fears are realized! He knows we're here! Him and his... mysterious lackey." Her head drifted around the room as she took in the new sights. "Man, this other me is girly." Her eyes landed on a report card on the dresser. "I guess she's a tad smarter, too. 'A pleasure to have in class'. Huh. Goody-two-shoes type."

"Most people wear two shoes, chief."

"It's an expression, moron."

Gretchen meekly recoiled. "Sorry."

Suzanne looked around and began to feel like she was in an alien world. Her room was in the same location, but the wallpaper was different. There were stuffed dolls on the bed, pink curtains on the windows, purple wallpaper... and a photo of her mother and father on the counter.

"Huh?" She picked up the photo. "This isn't my dad!" Instead of

Gretchen started searching the room as well. "If Jack isn't your father that means that you might look different in this universe! We'll need to do some disguise work!" She ripped through her friend's alternate-dimension-counterpart's closet.

"Don't panic. We'll get it together." Suzanne calmly began to inspect the dresser drawers. Pink shirts. Pink skirts. Blue Jeans. Simple taste, she thought.

Suzanne was abruptly interrupted by a harsh, sudden gasp. "Suzy! We've entered an accursed elseworld! A Lovecraftian alternate reality! A... really, very bad dimension!"

"Shut up, Gretch, it can't be that -" Suzanne spun on her heel to tell her friend to calm down, but lost the ability to speak upon seeing the interior of her other self's closet.

Phineas Flynn-Fletcher. Photos plastered on all the walls. Hearts cut out of pink card stock. Lipstick marks on those photos. A small plush toy of Phineas sat lovingly perched on a little wooden stool.

Gretchen closed her boss' slack jaw. "We're in enemy territory here, chief. Mind control. Dark psychology. Stockholm syndrome. I need to find my alternate self and see if she, too, is affected by this radical and horrific change."

Suzy straightened up and opened the window. "You're right. On closer inspection..." She leaned into her other self's closet and picked up a notebook. The cover read "Summer Memories." and the inside read "To the future Mrs. Isabella Flynn-Garcia-Shapiro" Suzanne grinned. This closet was informative indeed.

"Hah! First order of business, I am no longer Suzanne. I am Isabella, and you should be careful to not reveal my true identity." She began to turn the pages. "My skin is a tad darker, and my hair is black. Other than that, no discernible differences. We'll have to pick up some dye, then." Suzanne whipped out a cell phone. "Hey, I still have service. Under the... Phineas and Ferb network."

Gretchen checked hers. "No such luck on mine."

Suzanne – I mean Isabella - glared at her friend.

* * *

Ginger was in the Fireside Girls' lodge when she got a text on her cell phone from Phineas. "Funny prank this morning?" She looked around at the other girls in the lodge. Addyson, Milly, and Katie were gathered on the floor, and looked up from their phones.

Addyson was confused. "Did we do something to Phineas?" The other girls lazily pondered for a second, and then nodded their heads 'no'. "Does Phineas... deserve something done to him?" Now that was the real question.

"Does somebody really need to deserve it?" Katie rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

Milly glanced up at the ceiling. There was nothing interesting there. "Maybe we ought to go check on him. You know, in case Isabella needs us for the inevitable post-trauma emotional support." The other girls glared at her. "What? You know I'm right."

"Has anyone gotten ahold of her this morning?" Katie rolled back over, and then sat up. "I invited her here but she hasn't responded."

"Same over here." Ginger hopped off of her chair. "Maybe she's already at Phineas'."

"And Ferb's." Addyson added. All the girls shot her a questioning look. She nervously chuckled. "Not that that matters, anyways."

"You know..." Katie balanced on her heels. "We could go over there and see if she's having success today." There was a moment of silence. "And hopefully _Ferb_ isn't there." She emphasized his name venomously.

All of them agreed that they would go to check on Isabella, and for no other reason.

* * *

Phineas and Ferb were missing their friends, but had nonetheless taken to assembling an underground laser-tag arena. "I don't know why there are so many pipes and tubes running under our house, but zoning codes dictate that we can't hit these." Phineas was careful to dig around what he didn't know were Perry's secret tunnels. "Yo, Ferb, how are the vests and guns coming?"

Ferb fired the laser into the back fence, leaving a small burn mark. He put his hand up in a "so-so" motion. Phineas' eyes widened. "Definitely fix that."

* * *

_DOOFENSHMIRTZ EVIL INCORPORATED!_

Perry the Platypus landed on the opened balcony of DEI and very carefully stepped out of his hover-car. He felt around with his feet. There was an unusual lack of traps. Instead, Heinz had put his usual -inator ray smack dab in the middle of the balcony, completely unprotected. Perry shrugged and began searching for the self-destruct button.

"Wait! Wait!" Heinz quickly dashed out from the kitchen at the back of his lab to stop his nemesis. "My regrow-inator will do you no harm!"

Perry crossed his arms and waited for an explanation. Doofenshmirtz held out a small brown fedora in front of him. Perry gasped as he recognized the hat of Planty the Potted Plant. Planty had become a permanent resident of Doofenshmirtz' balcony perch where he-

No longer was. "That's right, Perry the Platypus. Planty the Potted Plant..." He hesitated, "has perished. Yesterday, I went to water him, since I had forgotten to the day before, and he had up and disappeared!"

Perry and Doofenshmirtz looked out over the Danville horizon. Perry wasn't sad, so to speak, because he was well aware that plants do not have sentience. But his frenemy was not. And so they shared a moment of silence.

"Well, now that that's over-" Doofenshmirtz leaned on his regrow-inator. "Behold! The regrow-inator! A combination of necromancy and science that will bring back the spark Planty left in this world!"

He started the bootup sequence and aimed it at Planty's perch. "Don't even try to stop me." Heinz warned. Perry nodded a 'yes' in response, since he was pretty sure no harm could come from this. The tip of the beam started to heat up. "You know, Vanessa refused to come to this funeral-resurrection ceremony, can you believe it? Said something about checking on a friend." He thought for a moment. "And also something about 'a plant's death being so unbelievably trivial she could not believe her own father would resort to dark magic and also hold a funeral for it.' She doesn't understand, Perry the Platypus. I'm old. I like my plants."

The laser finally went off after what seemed like ages and hit the perch. Nothing happened.

"Well. That's odd. "

* * *

"What is he doing back there?" Suzy- I mean Isabella- was standing on Gretchen-164's – I mean Gretchen's- shoulders, peering over the fence. Her cloaking device was back on, but it was low on battery. "It looks like he's making some sort of combat arena, perhaps to test out that heat ray I saw the other one making."

Suzy jumped down off of her friend's shoulders just as her and her friend's cloak ran out. "I wonder about the nature of this 'Ferb' character." Gretchen was deep in thought. "Perhaps our Phineas has conscripted some paid assistance."

"Speaking of which, do you think that's 'our' Phineas or 'theirs'?" Isabella squatted to match Gretchen's height.

"Whose Phineas?" A familiar voice suddenly came from out of nowhere.

"Phineas!" Suzanne grabbed a clump of dirt and threw it into the air. The dirt landed on what appeared to be a three-dimensional outline of their nemesis. She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be impersonating another girl.

Phineas coughed and hacked as he turned off his cloaking device. "Wow!" He once again hacked some dust out of his throat. "Perfect countermeasure, Isabella! I was actually counting on you showing up a bit later today. Oh, and hey, Gretchen."

Phineas looked the girl over. Suzanne had changed into her counterpart's pink dress and adopted the signature bow, but there was no disguising the hair and the skin color in such a short timeframe.

"Did you do something with your hair?" Phineas' eyes narrowed.

"Uhhh... yes. Do you like it?"

"It's-" Phineas stammered for a second- "cute. I definitely prefer the raven, though. Blonde makes you look... not like yourself."

"But I'm still myself, as you can see."

"Yeah. Yup." Phineas shrugged. The three stood in a silence for a while.

The girl cleared her throat awkwardly. "So what's the plan for today, boss?" Suzanne quickly pivoted to a professional attitude, and sincerely hoped that it was the correct one.

"Gosh, Izzy, you don't have to be so formal. The plan is... a big laser fight. Ferb and I will try to get you, and you and the other Fireside Girls will try to get us! It'll be fun!" Phineas grinned madly at them as he disappeared back into his yard. His hand stretched over the fence, waving them off. "I hate to blow you two off, but we want to keep some secrets and surprises up our sleeves. Get the other girls over here in an hour."

His footsteps faded and the sound of a drill erupted from the backyard as he went back to work. "That's our Phineas alright. Acting like this fight to the death is some kind of game." Suzanne clenched her fists. "I guess our Isabella is a character struggling with feelings for a heartless villain, while also keeping her town safe from his maniacal schemes."

"Wouldn't our Phineas have immediately recognized you, sir?"

"Brilliant deduction, Gretch. Yeah, my bad, they've just got some real similarities. That's not to say we can turn down this challenge! Perhaps if we enter his competition, we can see if the two Phine-ai are in league."

Gretchen beamed. "Thanks, chief!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Gretch." Suzanne flatly responded.

Milly, Ginger, Katie, and Addyson rounded the corner, Addyson leading the troupe. "Hey, Isabella! Phineas got you in a huff again?"

Suzanne leaned into Gretchen's ear and whispered. "I'm still the leader, even here! We still have no idea where their allegiances lie, so act natural!"

The girls now had their turn to look Suzanne over. "You're gonna have to explain this whole thing." Ginger nebulously motioned her hand in Suzanne's direction.

Suzanne was about to speak when Gretchen interrupted. "She is trying to get Phineas to notice her by adhering to a different style." Suzanne glared at Gretchen for just a moment before quickly facing the girls and nodding enthusiastically.

The girls exchanged some nervous looks. Finally, Ginger spoke up. "Is that foundation?"

* * *

I lied, earlier, when I said Buford and Baljeet waiting at the airport was entirely boring, there was one strange occurrence. Buford walked up to the Slushee Burger in the terminal only to find Jeremy Johnson.

"Are you still working Slushee Dog? That's kind of depressing. Aren't you, like, 20?"

"What should I be doing, Buford? I have the internship at the observatory, but that doesn't pay enough to start a family."

"Point taken. And why are you here, in India?"

Jeremy looked around, confused. Danville was a mostly Irish, English, and Mexican-Jewish town, culturally speaking. "Ah. So that's why we aren't serving beef."

"Anyways, who's the lucky lady?"

Jeremy handed Buford a sheep-based burger with a slight frown. "You're joking, right? Candace and I have been dating for 4 or 5 years."

Buford chewed on his burger for a moment. "Candace is getting married?" His shock was slightly muffled as his mouth was still full of mutton.

* * *

Vanessa knocked on the front door of the Flynn-Fletcher household. Linda groggily answered the door. "Hey, Vanessa! How are you this morning?"

"Afternoon. You had a late night, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher." Vanessa corrected. "And, I'm good."

"Right. Thank you for stopping by! It was fun, even if I'll have to have a chat with the kids about responsibility later."

"Yeah." Vanessa cringed slightly. "Speaking of, is Ferb doing okay?"

"Ferb? He's out back as usual. Haven't checked up on him and Phineas yet. OH!" Linda suddenly perked up. She invited Vanessa in and walked over to the living room table. "He mentioned that this belonged to you and it ended up falling into our backyard yesterday. Do you have a tendency to launch potted plants into the sky?"

Vanessa frowned as she gazed upon Planty the Potted Plant. He wasn't even re-potted, which didn't make sense because it made its way here somehow. "My dad was saying something about one of his plants disappearing. How did he find this?"

"Apparently, the other day, he was 'floating about' like he does-" Linda emphasized "floating about" with finger quotes as, to her knowledge, Ferb was not literally floating as the result of an anti-gravity launcher. "-And he said he plucked the plant out of the air. By which I assume he means he caught it."

"Huh." Vanessa grabbed the potted plant. "I came here on my scooter, and I'm not sure I can carry it all the way back-"

"-Oh, that's no problem! I'll just drive you home, dear!" Linda chuckled as she grabbed her car keys from their usual spot in a bucket on the counter.

"O-Ok." Vanessa sensed that there was some ulterior motive to this kind gesture. The two headed out the door, apparently forgetting to check on Phineas and Ferb themselves. Outside, there were a gaggle of Fireside Girls sitting in the front yard, up against the fence.

Linda turned to the girls as she unlocked her red SUV. "What are you girls doing out here? Didn't the boys let you in?"

Ginger piped up before Suzanne could. "They said they're still setting up, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher!"

Vanessa slipped into the passenger's seat as Linda hopped in the driver's. Linda leaned out the window and inspected Suzanne. "That's an interesting look, Isabella." The woman put the key in the ignition and started the SUV.

For about a minute, the drive was silent save for the soft purr of the engine. Suddenly, Linda put Vanessa on the spot. "So, you're friends with Ferb now?"

"I guess so. We saw each other the other day, exchanged information, and have been chatting ever since. I had been out of town interning."

"Oh! Then you're in college?"

Vanessa looked out the window. "No, not anymore."

"Well, it's good to have time to figure yourself out. Since you're young."

Another awkward silence. Finally they arrived at DEI. Vanessa grabbed the plant and hurriedly scampered out of her seat. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher!" She waved as she quickly entered the building. What a mess, she thought. It seemed like Linda had believed their relationship to be inappropriate.

Wait a second, was it inappropriate? She'd always had a soft spot for the little guy, but he wasn't so little anymore. He was 16 to her 19, which definitely made things a bit more questionable. But no, she decided, their relationship was not inappropriate. Not that she thought about Ferb that way.

She shoved her thoughts aside as she made her way to the building's main elevator. "Out of service? You've gotta be joking." Lugging the potted plant up all those stairs would be a pain for sure.

* * *

Agent P was just about sure he was done for work with the day. He shrugged his shoulders and headed for the exit door.

"Well, Perry the Platypus, it seems Planty the Potted Plant is truly dead to the world."

The platypus froze. The other shoe was about to drop.

"Unless he's out there somewhere..."

The shoe was currently dropping.

"In which case I could fire this beam over the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA and random chance would resurrect him!"

Thud. That was the shoe.

"In which case I will need to use a trap after all!"

Unexpectedly, the shoe plunged even further into the floor. Doofenshmirtz pressed a button on a hidden remote and the mech-suit-inator's arm came out of the drywall, trapping Perry. This could be bad, Perry thought, that beam could cause the Tri-State Area to be overgrown with vegetation. The beam could also do nothing, but that wasn't a risk the Platypus was willing to take.

"Relax, Perry the Platypus. Planty the Potted Plant was a eucalyptus, so I'll just hit areas that might have him first, scan for him, and if he's not there, I'll hit another!"

The odds of this scheme ever locating the plant in question were slim, but Perry was at least glad to have a little time to assess his options.

* * *

Phineas-164 lowered a bucket full of iced beverages down to his captive. "Would you like some tea? I also have lemonade." He had folded out a reclining lawn chair and was currently getting a spectacular sun-tan from the glass skylight in the hallway.

"You can keep your stupid tea. And lemonade." Isabella was still, understandably, in a bad mood. She slapped the bucket, spilling the contents across the pit.

"Aw, man! That took me minutes to put together!" The boy raised his sunglasses and looked down at the mess in his pit trap. "I even put a little lemon on the side of the glass!"

"What's your plan, now, anyways, Flint?" Phineas-164 winced a little bit.

"Isabella, we're past the 'disguises' point of our relationship. I'm Phineas!" Flint insisted.

"You're not Phineas. Not really. FLINT." She yelled the last bit.

Flint sighed. "Indeed, I am not 'your' Phineas." He leaned over the edge of the pit as he perked up. "But I could be. I could be even better!" Isabella wasn't having any of it.

"The real Phineas isn't defined by how smart he is or how much power he wields or how he treats prisoners of war!" Flint didn't really care what she had to say, but he listened anyways, since that's what you do when a girl you like is talking about something you don't care about.

"What is a man, if not the summation of his abilities?" Flint shot back, raising his sunglasses and closing his sun mirror. It really wasn't an argument you could win, he supposed. Arguing that you are superior to an irreplaceable someone.

"He's virtuous! He's always there for his friends! And he practices most of the basic principles of hygiene!" She's right. Those are all uncommon characteristics in an American teenager.

"I could do all that, given the chance." Flint muttered. Isabella huffed and sat squatted up against the wall.

"Well you have, and you didn't." Isabella crossed her arms. Flint reopened his sun mirror and flipped down his shades.

"Being buddy-buddy with you guys was, unfortunately, not a choice." Flint seemed a little anxious. "If I want to see any of the people I love again, I have to make that sacrifice."

"Love is selfless, Flint. Who have you ever put before yourself?"

Flint's shoulders slumped. "Well-" He suddenly didn't feel like tanning. He folded his sun mirror, set it to his side, and sat across the length of the chair. "You, for one."

"Are you joking with me? Every part of our relationship has been one-sided! I think- no, I know- you're a belligerent moron, and I've only been treating you nicely because the guy you're trying to murder wanted me to!"

Flint opened his mouth to speak, but she was on a roll. "Not only that, but every time I offer you kindness, you return it with some scheme! Or some unwanted flirtation! Or-" She motioned around to the walls of the pit. "-This!"

Flint was processing. Perhaps he had it all wrong. Perhaps he HAD never loved anyone.

"But there are people who love me." He whispered to himself. "And if I get them back, I can let them know their love wasn't misplaced."

"I don't usually hate people, Flint. But you-" She cursed that it was not literally, "-drive me up the wall!"

* * *

Phineas ducked behind a blacklit felt wall, breathing heavily. The sharp noise of the laser tag guns echoed off of the walls faintly. He turned the corner and narrowly missed Ginger, who flung herself backwards on to the floor. She took aim at him, but he was able to transition from his crouch into a combat roll to the right. The laser whizzed past his chest and he fired at the Fireside Girl, who was now a sitting (or more accurately laying) duck. She gasped for a moment before she disappeared in a small flash and a _bwoop_.

"Hah! It worked!" Phineas excitedly whispered. Of course, it always worked. Didn't mean the thrill was gone. Even though he kept his voice low, he alerted Gretchen-164, who was quick to slide out from behind a small barricade.

Phineas was surprised, but luckily, Ferb was suddenly behind her, quickly hitting her with his beam. She opened her mouth to alert her friends, but was unable to as she vanished. _Bwoop._ Phineas and Ferb heard a sharp gasp that the two could tell was from Isabella.

"That sounded like some legitimate horror movie acting." Ferb dryly commented. "She's always so enthusiastic."

"How bout we take her down a peg? I'll get you up on top of the left wall and then-" Phineas paused. "-hold on." He nonchalantly fired a laser behind his brother's head, taking Katie out.

"Darn." _bwoop._

"Anyways, you flank across the upper left and I'll go along the right wall." Phineas boosted his brother up on top of the wall. Ferb gave him a thumbs up and began to scan for Isabella, finding Addyson and dispatching her in the process. It gave him away. A thin red laser pinged out from across the arena and zapped him.

Phineas followed the laser and pinpointed where Isabella was going to be. She was always tricky when it came to tactical games, and her competitive side always came out in ferocious attacks. Phineas rounded the corner and was ready to shoot when Isabella appeared from behind the same wall and grabbed his gun.

"Woah, Isa-" She shut him up with an elbow to the gut. Phineas gacked and in his dazed state was unable to resist a judo throw over Isabella's leg. He fell to the ground in a heap, eyes wide with shock and confusion. Isabella quickly flipped him over and pinned him to the ground.

"Phineas! It's time to end this! What are you up to?" The intensity in her voice was unexpected. Phineas looked into Isabella's eyes. Then her hair. Then his eyes traveled down the length of his body.

"Oh my gosh," He whispered in horror, "You aren't Isabella."

Isabella cackled. "No doy, genius. What, did 164 not tell you about me?"

"164? You?" Phineas looked away for a moment, but quickly turned his head back up to face her. "Genius?"

Isabella looked confused. "Suzanne Garcia-Johnson. Dimension 164. The arch-enemy of Phineas Flynn-Fletcher."

"I thought we were getting along fine." Phineas looked a bit sad in spite of his strange circumstances. "Unless... It's not me you're after."

"A Phineas is a Phineas is a Phineas. I just didn't expect you to be WORSE." She spat. Phineas narrowed his eyes to avoid contact with the saliva. "Making a game out of fighting, killing innocent kids, including one you thought was on your side! It disgusts me!"

"Killing? What?" Phineas widened his eyes again and shook his head. "Nothing of the sort!"

"I saw what you did to my friends! Your little green lackey!"

A few seconds passed, and the pair stared each other down. Then, Phineas tilted his head back and laughed heartily. "Pffft. Isabella- I mean, Suzanne, I'd never hurt Ferb in a million years. When a laser hits you, you just get teleported to a waiting area to watch the rest of the match! The others are probably waiting for you to end it right now!"

Suzanne's gaze softened. "You mean-?" Her grip on his arms tightened as her expression quickly became tense. "What reason do I have to believe you?"

Phineas pushed with all of his strength with his legs, successfully throwing Suzanne off of his body. "This!" He grinned wildly as he picked up a laser gun and shot himself in the chest. "Ooh, tickles." _Bwoop._

The lights around Suzanne dimmed. Five seconds later, she was teleported suddenly to a stand. She looked down at a cheering crowd of her fellow contestants and neighborhood kids. _First place._ Gretchen-164 looked out of place, confused and frightened.

Phineas suddenly approached from behind and put her arm around Suzanne's shoulders. She tensed, and he quickly retracted. "Oops. Sorry, not Isabella. Right." He awkwardly stood next to her. "Congratulations. You won. See? Totally innocent fun, Ms. Garcia-Johnson"

"Huh." Suzanne blankly stared at him.

* * *

Perry watched helplessly as Heinz prepared the laser. "You know, Perry the Platypus, normally I would start with a metropolitan center or something like that, but I would rather just get my plant back today than cause any damage. Tampering with the laws of nature is evil enough, right?" Perry chattered agreeably in response.

Heinz looked through his scope and set it on it's target. "How about Mount Danville? After all, it needed a little sprucing up since that volcanic eruption." Perry glared at him. Doofenshmirtz averted his gaze downwards as he put the tips of his fingers together. "You know, that I caused."

Heinz theatrically pushed the button on the side of the ray, sending it off in the direction of Mount Danville...

* * *

Flint was weighing his options. After all, letting Isabella go meant exposing his identity to his enemies, but he obviously couldn't keep her there forever. Unless... He set his half-lemonade iced tea beside his chair. "You know what? You might not be heading home quite yet, Isabella." He grinned maliciously as he leaned over the edge of the pit. "Since you rejected my offer, I realized that there was another use for you!"

"You lowdown, dirty-"

"Ransom!"

"Oh."

Flint was a bit confused. He quickly regained his composure as he slipped his shades back off. "I'll get the boys to resign themselves to horrific experiments. That way, at least, I can find a way to take their ions without killing them. See? I can compromise."

"Good luck with that. I'll be out before you know it." Isabella glared from her place in the pit. Suddenly, a beam of light came through the sklight. Isabella felt the ground shake beneath her. The lemon on the ground sprouted a tree right in front of her eyes.

"Wow." Isabella whispered. "Phineas and Ferb must have figured out I needed help."

Flint was recovering from the flash, still laying on his back. "What was that?" Isabella had climbed the tree and was now standing over him. He blinked. She was still there, glaring down at him. He blinked again. "Well, you did say 'before I know it'." Flint stood up and wordlessly climbed down into the pit.

"Exit's on the right."

Isabella didn't have the time or care to thank him, so she casually sauntered out of the lair, emerging at the base of Mount Danville. She noticed flowers blooming next to her, and looked back up the mountain. It was beautiful! All the life that had been destroyed in the explosion had recovered, lusher than ever before. The only problem was a strange, lingering stench. She smiled and hummed happily as she made her way to the bus stop.

* * *

Suzanne was still blankly staring forward as Phineas and Ferb guided her off of the pedestal and up what was left of the backyard, where Candace was waiting for them. Candace looked at her phone.

"Unbelievable!" She tapped her foot impatiently. "I have no idea where mom is!"

Phineas took his arm off of Suzanne as he peered into the house. "Her keys are gone, Candace, so she's probably just doing an errand."

The Fireside Girls came up the stairs as well, bedraggled and tired. "That was fun, Phineas." Katie patted him on the back as she made sure not to make eye contact with Ferb.

Phineas and Ferb waved at the girls as they left, leaving only Phineas, Ferb, Gretchen, Suzanne, and Candace. Ferb looked at the group. "Hey, Where IS Isabella?"

Phineas frowned. "I'll go check at her place. Ferb, can you take care of Suzy?"

"Suzy?" Candace eyed the girl suspiciously. "I just thought she would have to explain-" She waved her hand in Suzanne's direction "- this whole thing here."

"Long story short, she's from another dimension where she's Jeremy's little sister."

"In that case, I see a vast improvement." Suzanne smiled slightly as Candace turned to look at the laser pit. "I still don't know how you're gonna clean this up, bro."

* * *

"It seems Planty the Potted Plant wasn't on Mount Danville. Oh, well, we've exhausted our peaceful options. Time to blast the city." Heinz shrugged as he aimed the laser in the general direction of the intersection below. Perry was powerless to escape the mech-suit-inator. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

_Ding-dong._

"I wonder who that is." Doofenshmirtz paused to go check the door. Perry huffed a sigh of relief. "Vanessa! What are you doing here?"

"My friend I introduced you to last night found your plant." She held out Planty. Heinz could scarcely believe it. He carefully inspected the pot, almost hoping for an excuse to blast Danville to plant-based pieces.

"That's miraculous! And lucky, too. I was about to destroy Danville over this!"

Vanessa looked past her father at the ray and the Platypus. Perry heaved another sigh of relief. Vanessa walked over to the machine to inspect it. "That means I can just self-destruct this one, right?"

"Sure thing, honey." Heinz placed his plant lovingly on the living room table, waving dismissively.

Vanessa hit the wrong button. A ray shot off in a random direction. "Oops." She shrugged as Perry glared at her. She pressed a button on the mech-suit remote and it released the platypus. He punched the self-destruct button, causing the machine to disappear in a puff of smoke. "I hope that didn't do any damage."

Perry chattered judgmentally and dove off the balcony, releasing his glider and heading back home.

* * *

Everyone had just left the laser arena and the participants of the match, plus Candace, were waving them off.

"That was great, Phineas!" A small pigtailed girl was the last to leave. She whispered something in his ear.

Phineas perked up and looked at his friends. "Sure! Are you guys free?" The girl looked down, disappointed, and left. Phineas looked back at the gate to see her leaving.

"Huh. I thought she wanted to get ice cream." Phineas never did understand girls. Suddenly, a beam struck the pit. All the dirt and grass on the lawn reformed right in front of the amazed group. "Who do you suppose does this stuff all the time?"

As if on cue, Linda's SUV could be heard pulling in to the driveway. Candace growled and stepped inside. That left just the Fireside Girls, Phineas, and Ferb. Ferb tapped Suzanne on the shoulder. "Suzanne, you have some explaining to do."

Phineas, who was almost out the gate himself, turned around. "It can wait. We need to make sure Isabella's alright!" At that moment, Isabella stumbled through the gate, bumping into Phineas. "Ah! There's the real deal!" Phineas grinned warmly as he put his arm around her shoulder. "Have you met Suzanne?"

The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds. Isabella was the first to offer her hand. Suzanne grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. She turned to Phineas. "We need to deal with Flint. You wouldn't believe what he pulled today!"

"You and I just met an inter-dimensional traveler, try me."

"Well, first of all, Flint is Phineas from another dimension." Isabella flatly stated. Phineas and Ferb leaned in intently. They had been tried. Perry waddled into the backyard, stared up at the boys, and chattered.

* * *

"You guys can really pull stuff together, can't you?" Suzanne inspected her new allies' handiwork. The Fireside Girls' HQ had a network of hidden tunnels under it, and in those tunnels Gretchen-164 and Suzanne had made a comfortable little apartment. The girls had installed some bunk beds and furniture, while the boys had provided state-of-the-art communications technologies and a small kitchenette. Phineas slid in a chair behind her as he set her up at her new desk.

"It was no problem, really. If all Isabella's told me is true-" Isabella shot a death glare at Phineas. He put his hands up defensively "-And it is, I'm sure. I've given you more than enough doubt over the past week or so. If that's true, then we have a duty to make sure this other me doesn't hurt anyone in his efforts to repair his dimension."

Suzanne looked like she was about to speak, but tightened her lips at the last second. Instead, she pulled her other self into a side-hug. "Thanks for the intel, Isabella. I'm curious to see what else differs between your dimension and ours. You will be working on a way to get us back home, right?"

Phineas smiled warmly at her. "Of course. We never back down from a challenge! Besides, any Isabella is a friend of mine."

The original Isabella frowned slightly. "Not that you're replaceable." Phineas corrected himself. Ferb gave him a subtle thumbs-up. "Baljeet and Buford will be home tonight, and once we get 'Jeet out of the hospital, we can get right to work on saving your dimension." Ferb felt a sudden tiredness come over him. Everyone in the room yawned. It was already about 9:00PM, and the day had been full.

The group left Suzanne and Gretchen-164 alone in their new digs. Gretchen flopped on to the bottom bunk. "Top's for you, chief."

"And don't you forget it, Gretch. Speaking of which, we ought to come up with an alias for you for public use, since there's a Gretchen here."

"I hope she's on our side too, chief."

"And I hope she's not so clumsy. Have a good night's sleep, Gretchen. We have work to get to tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: Wow, another chapter actually done on time? Crazy. The next one might take a while, though. The final word count of this chapter is 8k minus the A/Ns and title. Since this fic comes really slowly, I think I would like to recommend some good fics to read in the meantime. I'll try to recommend one fic a chapter.**

**DatJazzGuy is a really good fluff author, and "At Least She's Having Fun" is a great little comedy series. It's hard to nail timing in text, but he nails it.**

**NEXT TIME: Flint Was Here**

**Flint finds a new base! Suzanne faces a choice! The boys can't catch a break!**


	8. Flint Was Here

**A/N: Late again! Egads! I enjoyed putting this one together, elaborating on the characterization of the alternate dimensional counterparts.**

**Review Responses:**

**ArendAlphaEagle: I'm gonna be totally honest, upfront I had an idea for what to do with Milo, but it kinda fell to the wayside plot-wise. This chapter actually explains where he is! I don't plan on using Milo characters extensively, as much as I love Cavendish and Dakota. I'm pretty vanilla so I don't renege on canonical ships, and Amanda is best girl. I thought I made it pretty clear upfront that Flint was Phineas biologically, but I will get into the splintered development of the two Phineases.**

**JetzFlare: Yes, I mention Suzy in this chapter. I figured that Jeremy's dad would have the same names in mind for his children.**

**Jack Coffinson: Holy moly, that's a lot of reviews! No worries, I love getting feedback.**

**1\. Milo continuity is addressed. It's kind of a twist, but I see that letting that linger in the air for 7 chapters was a bad idea. Sidelining Joe really fast was also a mistake, but he'll become relevant later on in smaller ways, particularly considering the events of this chapter.**

**2\. Manic Phineas is fun to write. That's why I'm trying to put him into tough situations.**

**3\. I wanted to write Monty out if I'm being honest. His gags are rarely interesting and he's not fun to write. Phineas' obliviousness with Vanessa kind of comes from the idea that since he's older he's also learned more about societal norms, so he would find the age gap a bit strange.**

**4\. The “FSG competing over Ferb” should have been a throwaway. I was watching the show with a buddy and he joked that Isabella was there for Phineas and everyone else was there for Ferb, and I thought the idea was too funny to pass up. Definitely should have, though. Primarily, the intent was to establish there was tension between Ferb and the FSG, as well as internal conflict in the FSG.**

**5\. Candace and Jeremy don't really get the spotlight at any other point in this first bit outside of, you know, the obvious wedding chapter. I'm trying to write Flint as a realistically dark reflection of Phineas rather than a comically evil one (which is what most fic seems to attempt). In the show, Buford and Baljeet always seemed like side characters, but Isabella is there basically all the time and her skills are often as important as Phineas' or Ferb's. In most PandF episodes, Phineas has an idea, Ferb could be seen as the head engineer of that idea, and Isabella handles social aspects like promotion and getting people on board with the project. Later seasons kind of lost that idea, and so did MML, so I'm trying to make that a central part of this fic.**

**Do not even trip about the amount of reading your reviews end up being. It's really motivating to see people get this into your work.**

**And to everyone currently reading along, thanks a bunch. It's my first time writing for an audience and y'all make it a lot of fun.**

* * *

Milo Murphy gently prodded the fire pit he had constructed from twigs and branches. Above, a small metal grill seated a pan searing some recently collected dodo eggs. A dull, gray landscape that resembled his hometown of Danville stretched as far as he had walked, ending with a massive wall barring him from the outside world. As his famously bad luck would have it, he had some time ago, months by his count, been sucked into a bizarre green portal. He was no genius, but perhaps, he thought, Phineas and Ferb would be recruited by his friends to assist in finding him and extracting him from this strange other world. He hadn't another human to speak to, and the only things he found here were things long extinct, like the trees from which he gathered wood, or the animals and plants from which he gathered his meals (Milo was no killer, but he loved dodo eggs). What he didn't know is that his friends weren't coming for him. In fact, they had no idea there is or even ever was a Milo Murphy. Unbeknownst to him, he had become something that didn't exist. Milo reached into his backpack, cracking open some shelled nuts and throwing them into his mouth.

“Mmmm. Pistachios.”

* * *

**Chapter 8: Flint Was Here**

“PHINEAS!”

For the second time this week, a girl was angrily yelling at Phineas Flynn first thing in the morning. Phineas groggily tumbled out of bed, shook Ferb awake, changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and started down the stairs. Isabella – wait – Suzanne was standing right outside his room, and she looked impatient. “Isabella – wait – Suzanne, how did you get into my house at-” He glanced back at his alarm clock, next to which Ferb was getting dressed. “6:30 in the morning?”

Suzanne had changed into clothes that suited her better, donning some blue jeans and a dark green t-shirt. A camouflage hat replaced the bow. “It was really no problem. Your security system is weak, and your mom let me in.” Suzanne grabbed Phineas' arm and jerked him down the stairs. “C'mon. We need to get to FSGI headquarters, stat.”

“Security system?” Phineas dug his heels in at the bottom of the stairs. Suzy lurched forwards, but caught herself and stood back up. “I understand the headquarters is probably that place we made for you last night, but what's the FSGI?”

“FireSide Girls Inter-dimensional, dummy.” She thunked his forehead with her index finger. “I can't be spending all this time catching you up on details.”

“Details that I would have to figure out..?” Phineas trailed off as he walked into the kitchen, where Lawrence and Linda were already eating breakfast. Linda passed the two plates that had omelets on them.

“Good morning, Boys!” Lawrence seemed cheerful this morning. Ferb had apparently made his way downstairs while Suzanne and Phineas were conversing. “Oh, and Isabella. Did you stay over last night?”

“She stays over at your house?” Suzy whispered. Phineas chuckled a bit.

“Are you saying you don't hang out with Flint when you're not engaged in life-or-death battles?”

The two realized that Ferb had taken a seat and Lawrence was still staring at them, waiting for a response.

“No, I let her in just a few minutes ago.” Linda responded for them, grabbing her SUV keys off of the counter. “You can't put them on the spot like that, dear.” She leaned in and kissed Phineas and Ferb on the cheek. Suzanne snorted, and Linda glared at her. “We have to deliver an antique grandfather clock to a customer in Seattle, so it's going to be a long drive. You'll be on your own today and tomorrow, since we're staying at a hotel overnight.”

“Okay, Mom. Have a good trip!” Phineas waved to his parents as Lawrence got up and approached the front door. Suzanne took his seat. Linda opened the door to find... Isabella.

“Good morning, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher. I need to talk to Phineas and Ferb about something.” Isabella was dressed in her typical pink shirt and skirt, with a small hair clip instead of a bow. Linda and Lawrence blinked a couple of times. Linda glanced back into the dining room, where Phineas and Ferb were eating their breakfast happily.

“Okay, hon. You know our door is always open, you don't need to ask. Just don't stay overnight. I don't think your parents would like that.” Linda added as she and Lawrence stepped by Isabella as she sauntered inside, closing the door behind her. Ferb snickered.

“What was that all about?” Isabella entered the dining room. Phineas and Ferb shrugged, Suzanne opened the door to the bathroom with a relieved sigh.

“I think she thought you were me.” She shut the door as the toilet finished flushing.

“More like I was you.” Isabella grinned. “We should be careful not to let our parents get wrapped up in all of this. My dad is plenty worried about me as it is.” Ferb silently offered her a plate of omelet. She pushed it away with a queasy look. “No, thanks. My dad should really be worried about what his cooking's gonna do to me. His shakshuka is always heavy on the garlic.”

Isabella, nonetheless, sat down next to Phineas, pushing Suzanne's plate into the spot across the table from her. Suzanne noticed, but chose to sit across anyways. She raised an eyebrow at her counterpart, who responded with a toothy smile. Suzanne put her hands on the table and leaned in to the others. “So, from what Isabella told us yesterday, Phineas – I mean Flint – is hiding out inside Mount Danville, which was a volcano but is now a lush forest.”

“And frankly, we have no idea who did that.” Ferb interjected.

“Right. No idea.”

A knock was suddenly heard at the door. Isabella shoved off of her seat and opened the door. Buford and Baljeet, once again tardy, lurched through the door sluggishly.

“Mornin' Isabella.” Buford groggily smiled. Baljeet yawned.

“We arrived in Danville pretty late last night, and my trip to emergency room was fairly quick, but when we heard there was trouble, we came...” Baljeet yawned again, glancing down at the cast on his left leg. “As fast as could be expected.” The final pair entered the dining room and noticed there was only one free seat. Baljeet started at Suzanne. Then Isabella. Then Suzanne. Back to Isabella. Then he started hyperventilating.

“Yeah.” Buford waved nebulously at the two girls. “You're gonna have to explain this whole thing.” He slapped Baljeet heartily on the back, causing the smaller boy to collapse in a hacking cough. Buford helped him to his feet. “I'm sure just the implications here are enough to knock a nerd like 'Jeet off his feet. Head swirlin' with possibilities.”

“It is alright, Buford. I will be fine.” Baljeet waved Buford off. Baljeet took the empty seat, slinging his foot, cast and all, up onto the table. Buford pulled up a chair, setting it facing away from the table, before silently taking a seat and waiting.

“So? The clone?” Buford impatiently raised an eyebrow.

Phineas chuckled nervously and put his arms up behind his head. “Oh! Sorry. This is Suzanne, or Suzy as she's known.”

“Like Suzy Johnson?” Buford questioned.

“Kind of. She's the daughter of Vivian Garcia and Jack Johnson.” Buford and Baljeet looked absolutely stunned.

“I never would have taken the two to be unfaithful partners.” Baljeet nervously studied at Isabella, who seemed nonplussed by the information.

“Phineas forgot to mention she's from another dimension.” Isabella leaned on her arm. Phineas' hand hit his face. He snapped his fingers.

“Right! Right!” Phineas began to pace. Ferb grinned and put his feet up on the table. The younger of the two brothers was now making laps around the dining room table, hands clasped behind his back. “Dimension 164 is some alternate reality of ours. Flint is actually me from that reality, Suzy is actually Isabella from that reality, Flint is evil, Suzanne is good, and nobody is an equivalent to the Suzy Johnson from our dimension.”

“She's getting back from a camping trip with her Fireside troop in the Northwest today, actually.” Buford interjected. Baljeet gave him a concerned look. Buford shrugged defensively. “What? She writes me letters. I can't help that she's got some kind of a thing for me.”

Ferb leaned back in his seat and laughed. The others, excluding Suzanne, gave Buford some looks of disgust. Buford looked around at his peers with an indignant expression. “I ain't interested, I swear it! It's just some little girl's crush is all! I started coming over here this summer because she just shows up in my yard and asks me what I'm doing!”

“Good luck with that whole sticky situation.” Isabella relaxed. “She's at that age right around when girls go-” She looked at Phineas and made a looping motion with her finger pointed at her head. “-for lack of a better term, cuckoo.” Buford's dismayed expression sent the group, Suzanne included, into a howling fit of laughter. Suzy Johnson was wholly irrelevant to the situation at hand, anyways.

Phineas, having stopped pacing, finally got to the crux of the discussion. “Point is, we're gonna have to take care of Flint by infiltrating Mount Danville.”

“Then we can get to the work of restoring my dimension, right?” Suzanne sat up expectantly. Phineas' optimism gave way to concern.

“We'll certainly have to see if it's possible. Ferb and I haven't ever done inter-dimensional travel, so we'll need Flint for that.”

Ferb, as if a deeply buried memory had been prodded, suddenly had a thought. “Has anyone seen Perry lately?”

* * *

Perry the Platypus was resting on the couch in the living room when a beep went off on his comlink. The couch cushion flipped 360 degrees, depositing him in the house's tube system. He slid through the network of tunnels, donning his hat on the way down, finally landing in his orange seat and looking up at the large monitor. The image of Major Monogram quickly faded in.

“Ah! Good morning, Agent P!” The Major looked down at a clipboard and Perry produced a notepad. “After yesterday's necromancy fiasco, the agency wants to thank Doctor Doofenshmirtz for his effort in restoring Mount Danville to it's former natural... glory.” He trailed off, his expression becoming one of confusion.

Perry, understandably, looked a bit angry.

The Major glared down at his agent. “There's no reason to be upset, Agent P. It's just a bit surprising for Doofenshmirtz to do good, so the boys upstairs wanted to thank him.” A dispenser appeared next to Perry, producing a gift basket. “Luckily, we also happen to store gift baskets for any occasion under your lair!”

Perry begrudgingly grabbed the pink basket, waddling over to his hover-car and tying it to the back with a bow. He looked at the card attached to the basket. _Thank you for your service to the environment!_ There was a sticker on the side with the insignia of the Danville Parks and Recreation Department. Perry huffed, hopped in the front seat, started the engine, and sped out of the tunnel.

* * *

“I can't believe it! It was right here!” Isabella clutched her head and her right eye began to twitch. She frantically felt up the wall where the door she had left through had been. The party nervously backed away as she took a look at the dirt wall. “Wait a second!” She looked around for a second before jumping up to a tree branch and snapping it off by leveraging her feet against the trunk. She held it like a javelin as she sprinted up to the mountain and hucked it into the wall.

The branch planted itself firmly into the soft dirt. Phineas got the idea. “Ferb! Get over here!” The two grabbed onto the branch and pushed down on it, using the leverage to unsettle the dirt. Behind the patch of dirt was what remained of a control panel. Phineas clawed away at the dirt surrounding it.

A little brown haired girl wearing a beret suddenly tumbled out of the woods and scampered to Suzanne's side. The group quickly realized they had forgotten to bring Gretchen-164, whom they had dubbed “Gretchen't”. “Wait for me, sir! And other sir!”

Suzanne glared at her comrade. “Gretch! I told you to be up at 8 this morning!”

“I was. Sir.” Gretchn't quickly corrected herself.

“But we ended up leaving earlier than that.” Baljeet noted. “Isabella – I mean Suzanne should have told us you were coming.”

Suzanne turned her icy stare to Baljeet, who reflexively recoiled in fear. “Some friends you have here, Isabella.”

“Hey! We're great!” Buford cut in. After a period of silence, Phineas spoke up.

“It's locked by a 6-digit code.” He had finally finished uncovering the entire panel. He scratched his chin. “Suzanne!” He snapped his fingers. “Anybody important to this other me?”

Isabella perked up. Before she could, Suzanne interrupted. “He's an abject psychopath, buddy. I don't think he CAN care for anyone.”

Phineas scratched his head. “Isabella? Were you going to say something?”

Isabella had caught on to Phineas' train of thought. “You're going to try a birthday, aren't you?” She elbowed past Phineas and keyed in Candace's birthday. “He definitely cared for Candace, that much I could figure out.” She smugly congratulated herself as she punched the confirm key.

_Access denied._

Suzanne and Ferb snickered behind her as she got red in the face. Phineas grinned for a moment before thinking. He punched in another code.

_Access granted._

Phineas seemed surprised, but pleased. The others leaned in with interest. “What did you put in, Phineas?” Baljeet asked.

“Isabella's birthday.” He scratched the top of his head. “Because he doesn't know Ferb, you see. Suzanne, is he..?”

“That's ridiculous, dummy.” She angrily slapped Phineas upside the head, earning her glares from Isabella and Ferb. “He and I have been at each other's throats for as long as I can remember.”

Isabella tugged on Phineas shirt sleeve. She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “If it wasn't blindingly obvious, Phineas, he was all over me.”

“In- in what sense?” Phineas turned to her, bumping her with his elongated nose.

“I mean that he was always making moves, y'know?” She relished his adorable awkwardness with a barely suppressed giggle. “He's plenty smart, and tough, and not half bad looking, but he was missing something I like about... boys.” Phineas fidgeted nervously, half-smiling and abruptly turned his attention to the door that had opened with the panel activated.

“Hey, look, the door's open.”

Suzanne made an exaggerated retching noise, and Ferb rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.” Buford and Baljeet slumped.

“I see no miracles occurred while we gone.” Baljeet quipped sarcastically before, aided by Buford, Gretchn't, and Ferb, he followed Phineas, Suzanne, and Isabella into the dark tunnel.

* * *

_Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!_

Perry the Platypus courteously parked his hover-car outside of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated and walked into the building. He politely tipped his hat and nodded to the receptionist on duty, and clicked the button on the elevator. After a brief waiting period, the _ding!_ of the elevator bell coincided with the opening of the sliding doors. Perry waddled into the elevator and jumped up slightly to hit the button taking him to the penthouse. He knocked on Heinz' door and waited for a minute.

To his surprise, none other than Phineas answered the door. Immediately, Perry the Platypus jumped to the side, dropped the gift basket, and tucked his fedora... somewhere. Phineas reeled back in shock. “It was on the tip of my brain the whole time!” He thought for a moment, scratching his chin. Perry was hiding behind a potted plant in the hallway. “Does... Does your Phineas know about this?”

Your Phineas?

_Your Phineas?_

Perry slapped himself for not having realized it sooner. The idea that a parallel dimension might become a problem should have been considered beforehand. He stepped out from behind the plant, striking a fighting pose.

“Oh, relax, P.” Phineas, whom he now realized was Flint, assured. “Doctor D and I aren't really up to something today. Just sorting out my new... living conditions.” Flint put his palm up to his forehead suddenly. “Aw, crap! I forgot to leave a note for Mr. Garcia-Shapiro!” He quickly regained his composure. “Not that it matters, I guess. Oh, did you bring this gift basket?”

He invited Perry in, grabbing the basket by the handle. The two walked through the kitchen, Flint placing the basket on the counter. Flint raised his voice as he called out to Doctor Doofenshmirtz. “HEY, Doctor D!” He glanced at Perry. “Your buddy is here.”

Doofenshmirtz walked into the kitchen and looked down at the platypus. “Steven? It's been so long!” Perry put on his hat. “Perry the Platypus!” Doofenshmirtz reeled back in surprise.

Perry pointed at the gift basket and chattered. Heinz grabbed the basket and read the card. “Service to the environment?”

Perry shrugged and chattered in his shared confusion. “Well, Perry the Platypus, I was going to turn the Danville river into cheese whiz using my cheeseinator, but at, like, 5 in the morning I get a knock on my door and 'guess who' shows up saying he needs a place to stay!”

Flint waved from behind the older man. “It's me, Perry. I was 'guess who'.”

“So I've been spending all morning listening to this kid ramble about ionic energies and how he needs to capture these two men-”

“I presume you know. Your owners.”

“-right, so I set about programming the mech-suitinator to track them down and bring them here, because frankly the sooner this kid gets out of my house the better.”

Perry had had enough of this conversation. He struck a fighting pose, or at least he would have had he not found his feet stuck to the floor. He looked down. There was a thick layer of viscous yellow goop on the tile, trapping his feet.

“Who- who spilled this gelatin on the floor? That wasn't a trap!” Doofenshmirtz seemed confused. Flint shrugged. Heinz smiled. “Well, it looks like it worked just fine.”

The mech-suitinator burst from out of the wall, it's cockpit replaced by Norm's head. “SPEAKING OF THINGS THAT WORK JUST FINE...” His cheerful monotone came through in spite of his change in form.

“Alright. Now that we're ready to go...” Heinz activated the Norm-suitinator, “Norm! Find Phineas Flynn and bring him here!”

Norm walked over to Flint and restrained him. Flint kicked and struggled angrily. “Not me, you dope! The other Phineas Flynn!”

Norm's eternal smile turned upside down. “OF COURSE I KNOW THAT. THIS WAS MERELY A PRACTICAL JOKE.” He set the teenage boy down and transformed his legs into rockets, smashing through the ceiling and launching himself in the direction of the Flynn-Fletcher house.

Perry needed to find a way to escape before the dividing line brought the story back to his perspective.

* * *

“Alright!” Baljeet stuck the last of four poles into the far corner of the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. He dusted off his hands as he sat cross-legged on the grass and opened his laptop. Phineas, Ferb and Buford gathered around their friend. Buford surveyed the backyard, trying to make sense of what the coiled rods were. “They're probability ion sensors.” Baljeet answered, before Buford could ask.

“All we have to go on concerning dimensional travel is the presence of probability ions.” Phineas paced the backyard, “So we need to study their presence in an environment rich in them.” Baljeet grinned as his screen lit up. It showed all the occupants of the backyard: Phineas, Ferb, himself, Buford, Isabella, Suzanne, and the rest of the Fireside Girls, whom were all preparing to do their part in the manhunt. “Woah, we're swelling with good vibes over here!” Phineas chuckled. Ferb rolled his eyes.

“Alright, guys.” Isabella, whom Suzanne had begrudgingly allowed to take co-command of their mission to find Flint's new hiding place. “We're heading out!” She jokingly saluted the boys as the troupe left the backyard. A beeping noise emitted from the laptop.

“Huh?” Baljeet tapped the screen, as if it would do anything. “We lost a lot of positive energy just now.”

“The girls have positivity ions. Who would have guessed?” Buford wondered aloud. Then the boys thought back to the events of any summer they had spent together, and the amount of help the girls had been in the construction and organization of their various projects. “We should have all guessed that.” He flatly grumbled.

* * *

“Alright, girls!” Isabella pulled a large paper map out of her backpack. Unfurling the map revealed a grid showing downtown Danville at a micro scale. A few locations had been marked off, but most of the map had not yet been covered. “We have little to go on other than where Flint HAS been, so we'll have to canvas the town to see if people know where he IS.”

Gretchen't produced a red marker from her pocket, handing it to Suzanne, who handed it to Isabella. Isabella started scribbling names and assigning them to grid pockets. “Alright, so, we need to use the buddy system here. I'm sending you out in couples.” She began to point at girls and mark spots on the map for them. “Milly, Katie, check down by _Le Ferb._ Holly _,_ Ginger, head to Danville park. Addyson, Gretchen, double check the church to see if that mech left any traces.” She realized all that was left were her, Gretchen't, and Suzanne. “You two should take Gretchen't with you as well.” Isabella suspected that she may have to keep an eye on their counterparts. She had no way of knowing whether or not they were trustworthy, only Phineas' intuition, which had been wrong before. Wrong basically all the time, actually. “I'll take Suzanne and we can check out... _Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated_. That's a strange name for what appears to be an apartment complex.”

The others saluted and left in their groups, leaving Suzanne and Isabella to start heading towards DEI. Suzanne seemed less confident than before, her eyes trailing across the sidewalk as the two paced along. The two went on silently for some time, before Suzanne spoke up.

“I must admit, I'm jealous of you, Isabella.” Their eyes met. “Everything seems... friendlier here.”

Isabella nodded, but looked confused nonetheless. “I've noticed that our counterparts have some strange differences. In our case, I think the divergent point may have been our different fathers.”

“And for Phineas, the divergent point was probably Ferb.”

Isabella thought about it for a moment. “I think the divergent point...” She stopped and put her arms on Suzanne's shoulders. “Was us.”

It was Suzanne's turn to look confused. The confusion quickly turned into a look of annoyance. “What?”

“Think about it. Both of our Candace-es care deeply for Phineas, and so does our Ferb, but the starkest contrast is the rivalry you have with yours.” Isabella frowned slightly. “I couldn't imagine what I would be like without Phineas.”

“Is that really such a good thing? How dependent is your identity on his influence?” The two resumed their walk, entering the front door of DEI.

“A lot of it, I guess. I joined the Fireside Girls just because I thought it would impress him.”

“Funny. I wanted to show him up.”

“And the two of us are inseparable for the most part.”

“In another sense, that's true for my Phineas and I too.”

“Then, is it an Isabella's – or a Suzanne's – destiny to be defined mostly by the relationship they have with Phineas Flynn?”

Suzanne suddenly burst out laughing. “Save that one for the philosophy nerds, sister! God, how long has it been since I had someone to talk to that just... understood me? Even the other girls in my dimension, you know. They don't get it. It's not obsession, it's duty.”

“In my case, it could be called obsession.” Isabella chuckled, suddenly aware of how funny this running theme of her life was. The two entered the elevator. “If anyone knows where Flint is, it's probably the owner, and if the owner is anywhere here, it's probably the penthouse.” Isabella clicked the button for the top floor.

“Well, knowing what we know now, I think you could call it duty. Who knows what your Phineas would be up to without you keeping him on a metaphorical leash?”

Isabella's laugh was thus far the loudest of the day, ringing off of the elevator walls. Suzanne covered her ears briefly in annoyance. Isabella quieted down. “He roped me into this whole thing just by existing. I wouldn't say I keep him on a leash.”

Suzanne got quiet too, suddenly deep in thought. “Yeah. I wouldn't either.”

* * *

Phineas was balancing a series of four _Jenga_ blocks on the tip of his nose. Ferb was on a stepping stool, putting a fifth block on the tip of his nose. “I'm sorry, Jeet, but what's the point of testing balance if we're trying to figure out how probability ions work?”

“I don't know, Phineas. Is balancing a series of- “ Baljeet glanced up from his computer at his friend. “-five blocks on your nose a skill you simply possess?” Phineas couldn't argue with that. Ferb pulled the bottom block out, causing the blocks to fall perfectly into place on the edge of his brother's nose. “Explain, Phineas, when you acquired the ability to stop physics from working as they naturally should.”

“Well, it all started on the day of my actual birth...” Phineas started, and quickly stopped. He threw his head forward and the blocks toppled all around him. “That's it! It didn't start on the day of my actual birth! It started on the day I met Ferb!”

“Is this just a theory you are throwing out there, or-” Baljeet beckoned Phineas to continue his train of thought. Ferb was also intrigued, but kept his face mysteriously still. Buford had forgotten what was going on, and was bored.

Phineas grabbed Baljeet's shoulders and shook him violently. “Positivity ions become exponentially powerful when gathered with other sources of positivity ions! Ferb and I are spectacularly powerful together because the ions give each other a boost!”

Suddenly, a large figure descended from the sky and landed in the boys' backyard, singeing (Yes, the present participle of singe is singeing) the grass beneath it's metallic boots. “GOOD AFTERNOON CHILDREN. I HAVE A FRIEND WHO WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO CHAT WITH YOU.” The robot's cheerful tone only amplified the menace it projected. “AND BY CHAT, I MEAN EXPERIMENT ON.”

“One of this Flint guy's goons?” Buford quickly assessed the size of the mechanical man. It might be tough, but he could take it. He and Ferb squared into a fighting position, ready to defend the other boys. Phineas was less confident, opting instead to freeze on the spot.

“I AM NO GOON.” The robot seemed almost offended through the monotone. His hand retracted into his arm and produced an over-sized butterfly net. “I AM NORM, AND I'M HERE TO CAPTURE YOU.”

Buford gave Norm a strong punch to his gut, knocking the robot off balance. Suddenly, the nerves in Buford's fist became aware that he had just thrown a punch at a titanium-plated beast. “Owowow!” Buford held his wrist as he allowed his arm to limply dangle. “Ferb, do we have anything that ain't a me to beat this thing?”

“Un momento, por favor.” Ferb scuttled into the house, slamming the sliding glass door on his way in. Phineas came to his senses and rolled out of the way just as the net slammed down onto the grass. Baljeet folded his laptop, put it under his shoulder, and scrambled as fast as he could out the backyard gate. Buford defiantly grabbed onto Norm's right leg, though he was unable to find footing.

Ferb came out of the house, moments later, wearing a laser pack from the game the day before. He blasted Norm straight through the stomach, revealing the squirrel powering him. “I un-fixed it.” Phineas silently gave a thumbs-up from the ground. Ferb shot out Norm's left leg, allowing Buford to dig his heels into the ground and slam the robot into the dirt. Norm was defeated.

“OBVIOUSLY, WE GOT OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT.” The eternally smiling head sprouted a helicopter rotor, flying up into the sky and disappearing.

“Ferb, did you see where it was headed?” Phineas tried in vain to block the sun's glare from his eyes.

“That skyscraper downtown.” Buford answered for him. “Isabella's on the right track, it seems.”

“If that's what he's packing... I don't know if she can handle Flint!” Phineas nervously clutched his hair. “Ferb! Get some more laser packs! We have to get there before she does!”

Baljeet meekly appeared from behind the gate. “She can take perfect care of herself, Phineas. Stop freaking out.”

“That isn't the point!” Phineas snapped, disappearing with Ferb into the garage.

* * *

Perry the Platypus was almost finished eating away at the floor gelatin when a knock was heard at the door. Flint and Doofenshmirtz, who were relaxing on the couch, both turned their heads towards the entrance. “Who is it?” Flint yelled.

“Flint? Is that you?” Isabella's voice came from behind the door, laced with vitriol.

“Uhhh... no?” Flint quickly jumped behind the couch, where a newly freed Perry the Platypus was waiting for him. “Uh oh.”

Perry delivered a roundhouse kick with such force that it pushed the boy into the penthouse's front door, knocking it off it's hinges. Heinz jumped off the couch in surprise. “Perry the Platypus! There's no way that amount of gelatin was good for your body!” He grabbed a pillow and used it as a buffer as he pounced on the secret agent, who quickly dropped onto his back and delivered a wheel kick, sending Heinz flying out to the balcony. Hitting the ledge, and just barely saving Planty the Potted Plant, Doofenshmirtz threw his pillow, which Perry skillfully dodged.

Flint was dazed, but the door was still holding in place. The pillow knocked him just a bit further into the door, which, now unconstrained by its hinges, flopped over his head, revealing the two girls at the door. Isabella grabbed him and threw him backwards over her shoulder. “Isabella?” The boy barely coughed up as he looked up at the two. Suzanne grabbed him by the leg, pulling him up in the air, before delivering a brutal punch down into his midsection. Isabella let out a soft gasp at the sudden outburst. “Suze?” Flint was practically dead already.

Suzanne flipped him over, restraining his arms and putting her knee on his spine. “You must have known I was going to show up eventually, Phineas!”

Flint spat out a tooth on the ground, letting out a groan before he came to his senses. “Actually- I- it just occurred to me last night. This is actually really good, if you think about it.”

“In what sense?” Isabella squatted down, glaring down at the girls' pinned foe. “Now there are two butt-kicking martial artists looking to make sure you don't hurt my Danville!”

“No,” Flint grinned up at her confidently, glancing at Suzanne. “What you've got is one girl with an easy choice.”

* * *

In the penthouse, meanwhile, an entirely separate but equally important action sequence was happening. Heinz had grabbed a wrench, and was slamming it down on the ground wildly, his adversary nimbly avoiding every blow. The platypus finally had enough toying with his enemy, and shoved the wrench from Doofenshmirtz' hands into his stomach, knocking him back. Perry delivered a flying knee to Doofenshmirtz' abdomen, sending him sailing off the balcony.

Norm finally showed up, helicopter blades whirring. “PERRY THE PLATYPUS!” He looked around the penthouse, noting he would have to fix the door. “IF YOU SEE THE DOCTOR, TELL HIM THAT ON ALL ACCOUNTS, TODAY IS A MASSIVE FAILURE.” Perry sighed in relief before dive-bombing off the balcony to catch his defeated prey. Grabbing a humiliated Heinz and deploying his parachute, he sailed off in the direction of the Flynn-Fletcher household, noticing below that Phineas, Ferb, and all their conscripts were riding bikes towards Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. He smiled. Since the boys could handle the lackey, his work was done.

“Hey, is that Ferb?” Heinz pointed at the green-haired boy. Perry had neither the desire nor capability to respond.

* * *

“Wait a second.” Isabella stood up and looked at her partner in confusion. “What does he mean?”

“Beats me. I'm not gonna let him explain it, though.” Suzanne grabbed the boy's jaw and kept it shut. Flint rocked back and forth, eventually managing to roll Suzanne off of him and springing to his feet. Isabella attempted a roundhouse kick, but he caught her foot and threw her back into Suzanne.

“I mean, Suzanne, that your best chance at getting your life back does not lie with the good guys here.” He lowered his guard and began pacing. The girls glared at him from their pile on the ground. “After all, I have schematics, and plans, and an understanding of the principles of dimensional energies. What benefit do these jokers really give you?”

“Stuff a sock in it, Phineas!” Suzanne growled. “I'm not a traitor, especially not for you!”

Flint smiled at her softly, surprising the two. “It's not for me, really. This was a mistake. A colossal mistake. I want Candace back and you want Jeremy back.” Isabella pounced at him, but he sidestepped the girl and shoved her head, causing her to stumble into the floor in a heap.

Suzanne stared at Flint. Isabella froze in anticipation. She looked at Isabella's pleading eyes, then back at Flint's genuine face. She gritted her teeth. “You're right, and I hate it.” Flint smiled and reached out to pull her off of the ground, setting her on her feet.

“Suzanne? How could you? We can figure it out! You don't need this punk!” Isabella's fear mutated into anger, and she got up to fight.

Suzanne blocked a punch to her gut. “I love your intentions. Honestly.” She grabbed the arm and shifted it over her shoulder, throwing Isabella over it onto her back. “But I know my dimension's Phineas can get it done.”

Isabella was in shock, and couldn't believe that she had been fooled again. Suzanne looked down at her former ally with a tinge of guilt. She gulped, and turned to Flint. “What do you propose we do with her, then? And don't think this alliance is anything more than temporary.” She snapped.

Flint had already thought this through. “Don't worry. We won't hurt her. We still need to keep the boys' interest, and she's the bait.”

* * *

Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Buford, Addyson, Katie, Milly, Gretchen, Gretchen't, Ginger, and Holly were all crushed together in what felt like the longest elevator ride that they'd ever experienced. Minutes seemed to pass. Phineas fidgeted nervously in his corner. Ginger was the first to break the silence.

“So, uh... the wedding's soon? How's the planning going?” Phineas didn't respond, instead muttering under his breath about laser trajectories and potential exit strategies. The whole elevator seemed to be a tense bundle. Buford adjusted the fit of his laser pack. Baljeet cleared his throat. All of them were kind of hot, and the air was humid.

“It's going smoothly. We're holding the ceremony in two days.” Ferb replied. He tried not to show it, but he was also lacking confidence in Isabella, especially considering the vibes he got from Suzanne earlier that day. Gretchn't was eyeballing him. He'd have to cross that bridge when he got to it.

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz was quickly scrambling up the stairs, desperate to beat the elevator. After all, if this “Ferb” character was showing up on his front doorstep, he could be using his connection to Vanessa to spy on him, and he needed to prevent that. Even worse, there was a possibility that Ferb was actually interested in his daughter, which, as overprotective as he was, he also wanted to prevent.

“I still don't understand why he's armed or why he's dragging his brother along.” He muttered.

* * *

The gang burst into the apartment, lasers aimed at all corners of the room. They managed to catch a glimpse of the rocket skiff as it lifted off towards the horizon. Flint smiled and waved, taunting the boys. Phineas and Ferb both managed to fire off shots in the direction of the ship, but just barely missed, scraping the sides of the skiff's engine. Small puffs of smoke trailed behind the ship. Phineas threw down his pack in frustration. “Darn it! He's escaped again!”

“W-wait a second,” Ginger looked around. “Where's Isabella? And other Isabella?”

“What kind of trick would that guy have up his sleeve that he could take both of them?” Gretchen inspected the room thoughtfully, but found no answers. Gretchen't started to fidget a bit.

“That's not good. The chief never loses to Flint. There must be something more at play here.” The small girl muttered nervously.

Gretchen realized what she was implying. “You mean that Flint had a partner?”

Heinz, tired and achy, stumbled through the apartment door. Leaning up against the edge of the doorframe, he huffed as he caught his breath. “What are you all doing here?”

“Mr. Doofenshmirtz!” Ferb suddenly realized this was Vanessa's place, and straightened himself out.

“Doctor to you. Like I asked, what is this all about?”

“Some friends of ours found an enemy of ours here, and now he's taken them hostage! Do you know a guy named Flint?” Phineas pleaded.

Heinz slowly connected the dots in his mind. “So it was your friends that bust in here? You must be Phineas and Ferb! I probably should have guessed that there was only one pair of people named Phineas and Ferb in this town.” Everyone stared at him until he realized how ridiculous that sounded. Clearing his throat, he continued. “He said he was looking for the two of you! I didn't know you were just kids, he seemed to have a real vendetta. What did you do, kill his parents?”

“Uh...” Phineas scratched the back of his neck. “I'm pretty sure he killed his parents.”

Heinz' eyes widened. “Oh, jeez.” Doofenshmirtz began to pace around the room. “I guess I didn't know a ton about his personal history when I took him on as an intern.”

“It wasn't his intent, we're pretty sure. It's a complicated situation.” Ferb interjected. Phineas glared at him, but his face softened up.

“You're right, Ferb.” He turned back to the doctor. “Things between me and -did he tell you he was also me?” Heinz stopped pacing. “Well, they've gotten a bit personal. Can we count on your help tracking him down?”

The man sat down on his couch. “Give me some time to process all of this. I can give you...” Doofenshmirtz took out his cell phone and opened an application. He grunted in frustration. “Darn. He shut off my skiff tracker. Yeah, I've got nothing.”

“That's alright, we'll find him.” Gretchen patted Heinz on the back. “If you hear from him, here's my phone number.” She handed the man a piece of paper and turned to the other girls. “As acting leader of Fireside Girls Troop 46321, I'll be assuming command of this operation. we need an all-points-bulletin out on Isabella Garcia-Shapiro!” She glared at Phineas and Ferb. “We'll need you guys to sit out of the planning side on this one. Phineas, I think you've trusted your gut when you should have been using your head.”

“Now.” Ferb shot an ice-cold stare at Gretchen, “Is not the time to be pointing fingers. You didn't have any suggestions earlier, so don't go blaming Phineas for Isabella and Suzanne's disappearance.”

Gretchen met his stare angrily, but didn't say anything. Instead, she made a hand signal to the other girls and they all filed out of the penthouse.

“I'll tell you if we find anything.” Ginger quietly said as she passed Buford and Baljeet. Baljeet nodded at her. Gretchen't stayed behind with the boys.

She tugged on Phineas' shoulder nervously. Phineas had been watching the Fireside Girls leave in frustration, but regained his composure to face Gretchen't. “What's up, Gretchen't?”

The girl stared at her feet for a while. “You guys didn't have a plan for getting our dimension back, did you?” She whispered.

“Well, no, but we needed to get Flint out of the picture first-”

“What if Flint did?” Gretchn't looked up at the boy, teary-eyed. “I know the chief would do anything to get her brother back, even...” Her tiny voice trailed off.

“Betray Isabella.” Phineas finished her sentence and clenched his fists. “We don't even know if we can trust you, Gretch.” Gretchn't flinched slightly as Phineas put his hand on her shoulder. “I, uh, still want to go with my gut, though. You can sleep over at our place, since the Fireside Girls probably don't trust you anymore.”

Ferb raised a hand as if to object, but lowered it when he realized that Linda and Lawrence were out of town. Instead, he put his arm around Phineas' shoulder and headed towards the door, Gretchn't following closely behind. Before he left, he looked back at Heinz, who was still frozen on the couch.

“You're right, bro.” Phineas yawned. “We need to get some rest, and Flint's not gonna hurt Isabella. Mr. Doofenshmirtz! Call us if you have any information!” Defeated and tired, the three entered the elevator to the bottom floor.

* * *

Later that evening, Heinz Doofenshmirtz was sleeping on his couch when his cell phone rang. He picked it up groggily. “Who is this?”

“Doc, I'm sorry I skipped out on you earlier today, bu I need your help for one last thing.”

“Kid? Oh, no! You did not say anything about killing kids when you came to me this morning.”

“Relax, Doc! There's no need for violence of any sort, at least with your help. We just need to get some energy to power a big battery and then our dimension's good as new!”

“Alright.” Heinz yawned. “So I can get those kids' friend back for them?”

“Oh, no problem. I'll send you the coordinates. As long as you don't tell them where I am. I need to keep them at bay, since they think I'm up to no good, and a hostage is a way to do that.”

“I guess that makes sense...” Heinz muttered before turning over on the couch. “I'll be there tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

“You too, doc.”

* * *

Flint put his phone down on the table in the middle of the revolving room and grinned at his new partner. Suzanne looked away from him. “Alright! Securing Doofenshmirtz' assistance was easier than I thought! He's as gullible as Pinhead!” He pumped his fist excitedly. “And the Space Needle is a perfect staging ground for my latest idea.”

Suzanne huffed as Flint sat down on the couch next to her. “What's the matter, Suze? Once we get this done, you get your brother back, I get my sister back, and we can put this whole business behind us!”

“It's just....” Suzanne gazed at one of the doors. “I hate that we had to screw Isabella over to get here, even if she had it coming.”

“It's regrettable, but this kind of thing requires you to push negative feelings aside.” Flint's expression became a bit grim. “I kind of have to deny that I have to hurt people to fix my mistake. But after this...” He waved his arm in front of him. “No more evil. Didn't suit me anyways. I'll have to make up for all this, somehow.”

Suzanne was surprised when she looked at Flint's face. He seemed genuinely mournful. She scooted a bit closer to him on the couch and rested her head on his shoulder. “It's gonna be okay, Phin. You were always a mischievous guy, but I know you never meant to take it this far. I kind of had fun fighting with you today instead of against you.” The girl yawned. “And our Danville is worth any other one. Moreso, even.”

Flint sighed. He was also getting kind of tired. Looking down again, he realized Suzanne had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He got off the couch and gently set her head down on the rest. He had about an hour before he had to go to bed, so he got on the internet and began to sketch a blueprint:

_The Dimensional Drainatron._

“Push negative feelings aside...” Suzanne muttered in her sleep.

* * *

**A/N: We're approaching the climax of the first 'arc', so to speak, so I might mark the fic as complete after that and spend a little time planning the second part ahead, then publish that as a new one. Again, sorry about the time delay, I have been working a lot and writing my own original material in the meantime. Hopefully, I can get the next chapter out before the new movie hits and lore gets introduced, invalidating this entire story. Till next time!**

**Next Time:**

**Showdown at the Space Needle!**


	9. Showdown at the Space Needle

**A/N: Imma be real with you, chapter 8 wasn't my best work. Hopefully what plans I have for this chapter and the following make up for it. I definitely could have characterized Suzanne's partnership with Flint better, and she's really hard to get right in this chapter, too. ALSO I MADE A MASSIVE MISTAKE IN CHAPTER 1! I failed to explain that “The Phineas and Ferb Effect” isn't remembered to have happened in this continuity, and that the boys discovered positivity ions through other means. I have revised that chapter to make it more clear. As always, I look forward to your reviews, both massive and small.**

**Jack Coffinson: No, you didn't miss anything. For Vanessa and Roger, I haven't forgotten about it, but it's not really important to what I want to do with the Schmirtzes. As for Phineas and Isabella, I kind of disregard AYA when I write them as characters. Every action they're implied to have taken in the years between Last Day and AYA really seem out of character to me. The idea of Phineas being so nervous about something he can't surmount it is crazy, since Phineas' bravery and emotional openness is a central part of his character, and Isabella giving up on anything is a depressing thought. You'll be glad to know Flint and Phineas get some fun hostility here. I swear it seems you put more thought into this stuff than I do. Have you considered writing fanfiction? (Note that this is a joke and I am aware you have written.)**

**JetZ: Thank you for acknowledging my funny joke. This story will assume that you have consumed the entire Danville canon, and therefore will spoil MML in some spots. Finish it, it's an awesome show that outshines P &F at some points! This entire story idea came about because I liked the plot structure of MML and how it plays off of your expectations. With the -atron suffix, I just wanted to continue the gag of different suffixes for different -inators (which is a thing that came with LOVEMUFFIN in S2)**

**ALSO – CATU was great, in some ways stronger than ATSD! Luckily, the themes and story of CATU don't throw anything I've done here out of wack, except for maybe the idea that Doofenshmirtz doesn't know the kids.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Showdown at the Space Needle**

It was about 6 in the morning when a harsh knocking rang from downstairs. Phineas, who had been desperately pinging his missing friend's phone for a clue as to her location, hopped off of his office chair and headed down the stairs. Candace and Ferb followed soon after. Phineas looked out the window, and upon seeing who it was, opened the door quickly.

“Mr. Garcia-Shapiro! Any luck yet?”

“Why are you here, boy?” Phineas stumbled back a bit as Joseph entered the house. “Did you just up and leave her stranded?”

“Shoot!” Phineas snapped his fingers. “I've been so caught up trying to make contact, we totally forgot to tell anyone, Ferb!”

“Tell anyone what?” Candace groggily grumbled.

“Flint and Isabella hightailed it off somewhere. Likely against her will.” Ferb sighed.

“LIKELY?!?” Phineas grabbed Ferb's shoulders. Candace separated the two.

“Alright, DEFINITELY against her will.” Ferb's veneer of calm was starting to get on everyone's nerves.

“The Fireside Girls were out looking, but we got into an argument earlier so it's not a joint effort. And we were all pretty beat last night, anyways.” Phineas' brain caught up to his mouth. “Wait, did you say 'I left her stranded'?”

Mr. Garcia-Shapiro was at this point extremely frustrated. “Flint told me that he had been staying over at that lab he's interning at, and then he sent me THESE.” The man produced a phone and showed it to the siblings.

It was a series of pictures of someone who appeared to be Isabella and someone who appeared to be Phineas having a grand time... somewhere. Some scenic views, some goofy shots, a couple of hugs, sharing some cups of coffee. It was all a bit surreal.

“I don't remember you guys going off to Seattle alone.” Candace intoned. “I could have told you guys to avoid _The Brown Bean._ I went there once and the espresso sucked.”

Phineas lit up. “That's because we didn't.” He rubbed his hands as he grinned. “Flint just gave away his position!”

“Finally, my talent for identifying obscure cafes has come in handy.” Candace droned in a deadpan.

“You have your uses.” Phineas hugged his sister from the side, chuckling for a second before he remembered what they were talking about.

“I'm sorry, what's he got to do with your... eloping? I had assumed she had gotten home late, and had gone to bed, since she's usually so good about keeping safe.” Joseph's anger turned to confusion.

“Well, this is going to sound ridiculous, but...” Phineas looked back at Ferb, who shrugged and gave him two thumbs up. There was really no way of getting around an explanation. “Flint and I look basically the same, right?”

“I paid it no mind, but the two of you share a physique.” Joe turned a chair around and sat down, awaiting further explanation.

“He is me. Another me. And that Isabella isn't the Isabella we know. Note the lighter skin tone.”

“What?” Candace and Joseph raised their voices in unison. Phineas racked his brain in silence trying to find a decent piece of evidence.

“That... is the most preposterous thing I have ever heard! I've been saying for years that you're no good, Flynn! But this takes the cake!” Mr. Garcia-Shapiro was as angry and flustered as anyone had seen him in years. He got up, grabbed Phineas by the neck of his t-shirt, and lifted him off of the ground. “If you think for one second that I'm gonna buy that pile of... horse-manure-” He spat. Phineas flinched. “- You have another thing coming!”

“I buy it.” Candace separated the two. Phineas fell on his rear, and Joseph restrained himself. “It's par for the course with what I've been trying to tell everyone for years, so now you guys get to feel my pain.”

“You're siding with HIM? I know he's your brother, but you know how teenage boys are-”

“Like I said, it's exactly in line with what mom constantly complains I've been telling her about-” Candace glared at the man inches from his face, “- for YEARS.”

“Have you been telling people we're raving lunatics?” Ferb inquired from the back.

“I've been telling them you make stuff in the backyard every day.” Candace's glare shot back to Ferb.

“I... uh.... I thought everyone knew about that. Don't... don't we tell you about that?” Phineas stammered. Joseph's mouth fell open.

“Horse-crap! The way Candace describes it, you build laser tag arenas and roller-coasters and robots with sophisticated artificial intelligence!”

Phineas and Ferb both slammed their palms into their foreheads. Phineas was still struggling to grapple with this latest development when Ferb had a bright idea. He wordlessly took out a small laser pistol, tossed a coin into the air, and shot it out of the sky. The smoldering pile of ash fell to the ground in front of a terrified Joseph Garcia-Shapiro. Ferb noted he would have to fix the ceiling later.

Candace gingerly put her arms on Mr. Garcia-Shapiro's shoulders and led him to the couch, where the musclebound navy captain proceeded to curl up into a ball and rock back and forth. He muttered things like “This can't be happening.” and “This was what Isabella meant?” and “And we've been working on getting Candace committed.” Candace expected to feel some surge of validation or satisfaction, but mostly she was disappointed.

“This will probably feel better when Mom gets it.”

Phineas nervously approached the couch. He put his fingers together at the tips and smiled, having thought of an idea. “Hey, do you think Mr. Garcia-Shapiro would mind if we made some modifications to his car?”

The man didn't respond. Phineas normally wouldn't have taken this as a “yes”, but there were more important things at stake than how grounded he and his brother would eventually be. “Ferb! I know what we're gonna do this morning!”

* * *

Flint was up a bit earlier than his partners, and was browsing parts stores on his phone when Suzanne came to. She groggily turned her head, mumbling something about cloning. Shaking the sleep from her eyes, she took stock of the room around her. The Space Needle had been closed up for some reason or another (Flint may have contrived a gas leak), and as such was serving as their base of operations. It was a dark and thunderous day outside. One might even say it was the ideal conditions for the drain-atron's lighting rod. A literal perfect storm.

“G'morning, Phin.” She slurred slightly as she put herself upright on the couch, throwing aside a quilt. “Thanks for the blanket and all.”

“Oh, no problem. Plan's on phase 2, just so you know.” Flint smirked. He sat down on the couch with a _thud_ and showed the girl his phone. “I send Mr. Garcia-Shapiro the pictures this morning, which guarantees that Pinhead and Skullscraper will get on their way at about 7. Brilliant plan with the disguises, by the way. You are a natural evil genius.”

Suzanne, who was tired before, burst into panic. “You're bringing them HERE? WHY ON EARTH would you bring them HERE?” Flint flinched, putting his hands up defensively.

“I told you last night we needed to bait them with Isabella. We basically just have to get them here, knock them out, and plug em into the machine.”

“Oh, right.” She calmed down, getting up off the couch and wandering into the restaurant kitchen that presided next to the room they were staying in. “What machine?” Flint followed closely behind.

“The Dimensional-Drainatron! It's gonna use the boys as batteries, which will channel the extra-dimensional energies of this dimension to rebuild ours.”

“Sounds like it's gonna do a number on this dimension.” Suzanne didn't sound like she had any more hangups, which worried Flint slightly.

“Uh, to understate massively, yes.” Flint rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers. “Ooh! Don't mention any of that 'killing- no- replacing- everyone' stuff to Heinz! I plan on replacing our Heinz with him. And he hasn't seen our captive, for that matter, either.”

“Why spare that weirdo?” Suzanne rifled through the fridge, producing a carton of eggs, some shredded cheese, and some milk. She tossed Flint some bacon. Flint put a pan over the stove and laid out some strips for the three of them.

“Why not? He's helping us get our home back. It's the least we could do. Now that I think about it, I should probably do the same for his daughter.”

“You have a strange moral compass, bud.” Suzanne oiled up another pan and made a mixture of the eggs and milk. “Aren't you, like, in love with their Suzanne or something?”

“I'll get over it.” Flint nonchalantly put his hand on the stove, quickly retracting it and shaking his wrist. “A Suzy's a Suzy.” The words had not left his mouth before Dr. Doofenshmirtz entered the room. “Hey, doc!”

Suzanne didn't even have time to process Flint before she set herself to the task of deceiving Doofenshmirtz. “Good morning, Heinz!”

Heinz put his arms out in confusion. “Kiddo, I feel like I'm really- y'know, out of the loop here. Who's this girl?”

“A friend of ours, now.” Flint went out to the main restaurant area, setting the tables. “She's brilliant! Even managed to figure out a way to get our dimension back without harming the boys!” His grin would have oversold the statement to anyone less oblivious than Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

“Well, that's good. Great even.” Heinz dodged Suzanne, who was walking by with a hot pan of bacon and scrambled eggs. “Future you is going to be glad you didn't hurt those guys.”

Flint's brow furrowed, but Suzanne picked up the silence. “Yep!” She slid some eggs on to each plate and set across from Flint. She sat down across from him and locked eyes. “Very. Glad.”

Suzanne was a better liar.

“Say, doctor, you should get that daughter of yours up here. It would make for a nice little work vacation.” Flint casually dropped into the conversation as he pulled out his cell phone.

“Maybe. We've never really taken the time to see the sights around here. It's always been very life-or-death for the Doofenshmirtzes in Seattle.”

Suzanne looked across the table at Flint, as if to say “what?” but neither decided to ask for an elaboration.

“Well, I'm afraid that for us, today, it very much is.” Flint showed the Doctor the plans for the device (excluding the human battery compartments, of course), very impressed with how adeptly his rival had managed to become a villain. She antagonized him all the time, of course, but this was something entirely different from their pride-driven squabbles back home.

Or was it?

* * *

Buford and Baljeet were jogging along the sidewalk, early in the morning. The two's morning ritual had been a mainstay of the past few months. The two had been pursuing physical fitness together, and while Buford was much stronger than Baljeet, Baljeet was a better distance runner. They rounded the corner and slowed down as they approached the Fireside Girls lodge in Danville park. They passed by every morning, but this morning they wanted to check on the search for Isabella and Flint.

Buford lagged behind as Baljeet rapped on the door. Shuffling could be heard from behind until Ginger looked through the peephole, saw the two, and granted the two entrance. “Good morning, girls.” Buford heaved.

“Actually, it's just a morning.” Addyson snapped. “If it was 'good', we wouldn't all be huddled up here worried sick about Isabella.” Buford almost responded, but thought better of it and coughed into his fist awkwardly. “Well, since you're here, do you mind telling us what Phineas and Ferb are up to?”

“We parted on admittedly bad terms last night.” Gretchen seemed a bit ashamed. Gretchen't was leaned up against the wall, and looked the other way. “All we figured was that Flint and Suzanne have probably thrown in together, and she might be in on it.” The original Gretchen glared at Gretchen't.

“We were on our way to their place, and in the event that nothing else relevant or interesting happens, we are going to keep heading over there now.” Baljeet was abruptly stopped by the transition of the story to another perspective.

* * *

Perry the Platypus watched as a minivan rolled out of the Garcia-Shapiro garage. His morning had been curiously quiet. The boys had even forgot to feed him. He grumbled grumpily as he lounged around the empty house, waiting for a call from Major Monogram. He pulled himself up onto the counter, opening the cabinet with the some canned platypus food. Grabbing the can and a can opener from the silverware drawer, he sat, upright, on the edge of the counter top, eating the food with a spoon.

It was very unusual to see the boys in such a stir. Recalling the prior night, Perry realized that they had probably headed off to find Isabella. Flint was likely with Doofenshmirtz, and he might have skipped town, too, so the first step was figuring out where they went. Jumping headfirst into the can, he emerged in his secret lair. Infinitely talented, those entrance guys.

Disregarding the blank screen, he jumped on his hover-car and headed up to DEI. Smashing through the entrance door, all he found was a very tired Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. She was inspecting a laser blast in the corner of the room, but turned her attention to the door when Perry entered.

“Oh, hey, Perry.” A deadpan Vanessa waved, motioning him to her side. Perry waddled over slowly. “Look at the impact of these laser blasts.”

Perry looked at the burn marks. They were burn marks.

“That isn't the typical impact of a laser blast, Perry the Platypus.” She raised her phone, which showed an image of another burn mark. “This is another laser blast from a few days ago. Notice the difference?”

Perry leaned in, comparing the two. He saw no visible difference.

“Look closely. This laser blast is more rounded.” She pointed at the burn mark on her floor. “The emitter ray was likely more precisely crafted, meaning one of two things.”

Perry shrugged his shoulders but eagerly awaited an explanation.

“This is a nicer part than Dad usually gets, or, more likely...” She frowned at Perry. “This isn't a blast from one of Dad's -inators. Or the kid's, for that matter. They use the same parts. Somebody else was here yesterday.” She did not mention that the blast indicated a level of quality that her father wasn't capable of producing.

A sudden vibration from the phone signaled a text. “Dad wants me in Seattle? Well, if we want to get to the bottom of this...” She locked eyes with Perry, who nodded enthusiastically. “You like the thrill of a mystery, Perry? I've got some more pictures on the phone of various pieces of evidence.” She slid the cell phone back into her hip pocket. “We can go through them on the way.”

The two hopped into Perry's hovercar, speeding off in the direction of the Space Needle.

* * *

Phineas and Ferb set themselves to constructing weapons in the back of Mr. Garcia-Shapiro's van, which they had turned into a mobile lab of sorts. The owner of the vehicle was in the passenger's seat, still curled up in a ball, and Candace was gripping the wheel ferociously as the quartet booked it to Seattle at 80 miles per hour. Passing yet another car, the van shook, interrupting Ferb as he calibrated the laser blaster.

“Perhaps we should slow down a bit, Candace. There's no reason to assume Isabella is in immediate danger.” He calmly went back to adjusting the screw that attached the refraction lens to the barrel. Phineas glared at Ferb and waved dismissively at Candace.

“Just Velcro yourself to the floor, Ferb. We need to get there as soon as possible. Candace, feel free to apply autobahn rules.”

“Autobahn rules?” Candace glanced back at her brothers.

“The autobahn is a road in Germany where about half of the highway has no speed limit.” Ferb explained.

“Alright, then.” Candace floored the gas pedal and the car burst forward. Hearing police sirens, Ferb peeked out the back window. He pointed towards the squad cars approaching them.

“DISREGARD THE AUTHORITIES!” Phineas yelled at Candace, whipping out a remote with a big red button on it. He rubbed his hands together maniacally. “We can outrun them! I'm gonna press this, and we're gonna get some REAL speed.”

“Now wait just a moment!” Joseph snapped out of his trance. “What's gonna happen to the van?”

“I just told you. The van will go fast.” Phineas grinned as he pushed the button and the world around them became a blur. White lights trailed around them as the four were peeled to the back of the car. The G-forces pinned their faces against the back of the seats, or in the brother's case, the back of the van. Suddenly, the van came to a stop. Ferb tumbled around in the back before the landed on his rear. Phineas stayed completely still.

Phineas pointed to his butt, where a strip of Velcro had been applied He ripped it off. “See? Velcro. Welcome to Seattle, ladies and gentlemen!” Phineas hopped out of the back of the van and crowed. Ferb, though woozy, was unharmed. He gave a weak thumbs-up. Phineas winked in response. “Trust me, Ferb. I've got my head on straight. I would never in a million years lose focus at a time like this!”

“What about the only other time like this?” Candace jimmied the door handle a bit, finally kicking it open. She was, of course, referring to the zombie incident.

“I've got it together!” Phineas snapped. He pointed towards the Space Needle. “If I'm me, which I am, and I need to generate power, which I assume he's doing, I would want to pick the optimal building, which, again, if I'm me, and I am, I already did.”

Candace was confused. “Run that by me again?”

Phineas pointed at the tourist trap on the skyline. “The Space Needle is a gigantic electro-magnetic pylon, given enough tinfoil.”

Sure enough, the top of the Space Needle was covered in tinfoil.

* * *

Flint and Heinz were alone, wind in their faces, having finished covering the top of the Space Needle in a tarp of tinfoil. They had then set themselves to building the _Drainatron,_ which Flint had referred to as the _Make-inator._ Flint felt somewhat guilty at lying to his friend again, especially since Heinz had put aside yesterday's fiasco so quickly. He silently set to work building the battery pods.

“How's your bit coming, kiddo?” Doofenshmirtz raised his voice slightly as he leaned around the large machine he was working on. “We can't afford to take any risks when it comes to quality here.” He slapped the side of the machine. “There's some major destructive power in this bad boy if we're not careful. If you weren't such a young evil scientist I might even believe it was intentional.”

“Isn't evil supposed to be destructive?” Flint screwed in the hinges for the door paneling.

“Well, yes, but there is some ethical accountability to the whole thing. Take Rodney, for example.”

“Rodney?”

“Old colleague. Big jerk. Rodney was more than willing to kill to satisfy his goals and it caught him some flak among the rest of our organization. We threw him out a couple of years ago. It's looked down upon. Say you conquer the world.”

“Alright, I conquer the world.”

“But you've destroyed every world government simply by removing their leaders. You need proxies and orders and such.”

“That makes sense.” Flint scratched the back of his neck as he finished the pod for Ferb.

“Like, for instance, if I were to conquer the Tri-State Area, I would like Francis Monogram, my nemesis' Commanding Officer, to be my secretary.”

“Just to rub it in?”

“It's a fate worse, and more hilarious, than death.”

Flint chuckled slightly. But Heinz was right. Say, when this was all over, how neat it would be to keep someone around, just to rub it in. Perhaps he would discuss the possibility of sparing more people with Suzanne. He finished the second pod and realized moving the pods would be impossible with his human strength, and he would have to conscript Norm.

“Hey, Doc! Norm's downstairs, but I'm gonna need him up here! I'm heading out to go grab him. Keep those screws tight.”

“Sure thing.” Heinz stepped back slightly, as not to fall to his death, and admired the central core of the machine he thought was going to rebuild a dimension from scratch. “I mean it, Flint. One thing goes wrong and this thing could end the world as we know it. As I know it, I mean.”

A small spark fizzled from the power supply that the two had thought was deactivated, causing an invisible jolt of energy to pass through the Drainatron. The Drainatron, with insufficient power to push or pull energy to or from an entire universe, had to settle for pulling something from a pocket dimension instead. Somewhere in Danville, something relevant and interesting was about to happen.

* * *

Milo Murphy happened to be strolling through Danville Park when something uncharacteristically lucky happened to him. Gathering twigs for a new shelter, he was suddenly greeted by an opening of a large green portal. “Hey! This is the thing that got me in here in the first place!” He said, to no one in particular. Living alone for the weeks he had will do that to you. Without hesitation, hopped through the portal and ended up...

… smacking directly into the side of Fireside Lodge 46321. “Ouch!” He cried out in pain, rubbing his head. “Welp, it does at least seem like I'm back in Danville, so that's good. How uncharacteristically fortunate.”

Baljeet and Buford rounded the corner, investigating the disturbance. Seeing Milo, the two suddenly experienced a sudden mental conflict, with memories overlapping and misplacing each other. The two clutched their heads and groaned.

Milo rushed up to the incapacitated pair. He pulled out his backpack, reaching in and shuffling through the contents. “Are you guys alright? Do you need some Tylenol?”

Buford grabbed Milo's wrist. “It's alright, Milo. Just remembering you is all.”

“Remembering me?”

Baljeet looked behind the two. The portal snapped shut behind Milo suddenly. “Oh! We've seen these portals before!”

Milo paused and looked at Baljeet. “You've seen those before?”

“Yes! They remove objects from the timestream!” Baljeet lit up. “They make you completely forget the objects or people that get sucked in, creating an alternate timeline in which you did not exist.”

“That explains the strange memories.” Buford frowned. “We knew about probability ions long before we discovered them this last year, I guess.”

“So, do you think that everyone I've interacted with is having their memories overwritten or mixed together or whatever?”

“I figure we'll remember the time you were gone, and the times that were relevant to the creation of those memories, and maybe the times that were relevant to the creation of the time that was relevant-” Baljeet pulled out a sketchbook and started drawing Venn diagrams. Buford lightly punched Baljeet.

“Stop thinking, nerd. My brain hurts.”

“Okay, okay.” Baljeet tapped his pen against his head, and then tucked it away. He put his hand on Milo's shoulder. “Lets reintroduce you to the girls.”

“'Jeet, they're gonna remember him too.”

“Oh. Right.”

* * *

Suzanne Garcia-Johnson and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro were sitting in the repurposed walk-in fridge in the restaurant. It was, last night, deactivated by Flint and set up as a makeshift prison for their one prisoner. There was a dividing line of steel bars, a bed with pillows and blankets, a space heater, and he had even managed to redo the plumbing, because there was a toilet with a small divider in the corner, complete with a sink.

“Flint has to be the most accommodating evil mastermind I've ever seen.” Suzanne nonchalantly commented from the favorable side of the bars. She leaned back in the chair. “If it were up to me, you'd probably just have a bucket and a cot.”

“As if. We were friends yesterday, Suzy! What changed?” Isabella was sitting on the side of her bed. The other girl was right. It had been very comfortable, save for the magnetic cuffs on her hands.

“Your status in relativity to me.” Suzy matter-of-factly stated. “You are no longer my friend. You are my enemy, a prisoner no less. Therefore I have no obligation to provide you with anything, and you should be grateful for a bucket and a cot.”

“You're more like our Suzy than you realize.” Isabella muttered under her breath as she laid back on the pillow. Her gut instinct had been as wrong as Phineas', for once. It seemed like Suzanne had even less of a moral compass than Flint. Days ago, she had told Flint that he was like a twisted version of Phineas, and it made her uncomfortable. The idea of her other self being capable of such casual disregard for others in the pursuit of her objectives was like a nightmare.

Then she thought back to the Fireside Girls, and Phineas. And then she realized that maybe she was capable of disregard. Cruelty, though, was not the Garcia-Shapiro style.

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz and Flint Flynn-Fletcher were just dusting off their hands after finishing work on the Dimensional-Drainatron's lighting rod when the older of the scientists suddenly clutched his head, moaning. The doctor got down on one knee as sharp pain jolted through his brain, but it quickly subsided. Flint put his hand on the doctor's shoulder. “You good, doc?”

“Another one..?” Heinz muttered, before standing up. He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he took some time to process the memories that had just entered his head. “Oh my gosh!” He suddenly exclaimed. “We forgot Milo!”

“You gone batty on me, doctor?” Flint backed away nervously and put his hands up defensively. “We don't have any allies named Milo.”

“You don't know him, but I do. He was helping me on my mission to turn away from evil, for the sake of my daughter's career in good-guy-being.”

“Say it ain't so!” Flint spurted in dismay. “Doc, you're as evil as they come! As cold and as calculating as a liquid cooled computer!”

“I am- I mean, I was- putting all that behind me, kid.” Doofenshmirtz glanced back at the two's handiwork as he slid his hands into his lab coat. “This really has been fun and all. Evil always is. but I needed- need- to be a good father first.”

The two stood silently as the wind howled in their ears and the pitter-patter of rain drenched the foil around their rubberized soles. Flint shivered a bit and wrapped his coat around his body. “So, does that mean 'end of the line?'” Flint asked. Doofenshmirtz nodded, but it slowly turned to a smile.

“You know, being a good person is a real struggle. Most people are neither good nor bad, you know?” Heinz put his hand on Flint's shoulder. “Most people are just... bleh.” He rolled his wrist to accentuate. “I have some kind of GREAT destiny to fulfill in which I drive humanity into a new golden age of scientific progress and yada yada... But you have no... uh, destiny, at least that I'm aware of.”

“What are you implying, doc?” Flint nervously glanced around, as if wanting to escape the conversation. Not much but wind was up there with them.

“Well, as you are no longer an employee of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, and this may be the last time we work together, I was just thinking I could impart some wisdom.” Heinz took his hand off Flint's shoulder and began to walk downstairs. “But, hey, if evil comes first, I can hardly judge you for it. After all, at a certain petty scale, it's tons of fun.”

Flint got a little squeamish.

* * *

The Flynn-Fletcher Trio had elected to leave Mr. Garcia-Shaprio behind in the car, as his fractured mental state jeopardized their mission. A sharp pain shot through Candace, Phineas and Ferb's heads as they approached the base of the space needle. It was sudden, and subsided just as quickly.

Ferb glanced at his brother in confusion.

“Yeah, Ferb, that was strange. Milo Murphy must have gotten stuck in the time void, and we've forgotten him for... a while.” Phineas explained. Candace shot him a glare.

“Phineas, I know what the time void is! I caused... I mean I was involved in a lot of it.” Candace snapped. “So we'd forgotten the Pistachion Crisis.”

“I guess we figured out what probability ions were a lot earlier than this year as well.” Phineas frowned. “We couldn't have existed in the split timeline for more than a month, but it's likely radically altered THIS timeline.”

“I've seen the old future, and that's a good thing.” Ferb smirked.

“Elaborate on that.”

“No.”

Phineas shrugged and turned back to Candace, and noticed she was fiddling with the weapon he gave her. It appeared to be a tennis ball launcher, but there were some important modifications. “Candace, are you nervous about firing a net launcher?”

“I know you two wouldn't kill a fly, but it feels like a gun, y'know?” She sighed. “So the ball thingies expand and turn into nets, which attach at the ends and catch stuff?”

“Precisely! We can't count on Flint and Suzanne to play by our rules, so it'll paralyze them, but it won't hurt them too bad.”

“Speaking of, have you considered how you could actually prosecute the two? The whole 'Alternate dimension me tried to kill me' bit probably won't hold up in court.”

“What if I pleaded insanity?” Phineas mockingly grinned at her. “You make a fair point. We'll have to find some way to imprison them ourselves.”

The three found that the door to the Space Needle was unlocked, so they headed inside. Phineas called down the elevator, and whistled while the three waited. Candace tapped her foot impatiently.

“I've killed flies.” Ferb muttered under his breath.

* * *

Perry and Vanessa had forgotten to pack an umbrella, and the rainstorm happening around them really was not their idea of a comfortable ride. Landing at the base of the tower, Perry stepped out of the vehicle and grabbed Vanessa's hand, assisting her as she stepped over the door. “Thanks, Perry.”

The two entered the Space Needle, and noticed that Phineas, Ferb, and Candace had already been waiting for the elevator. The three's eyes shot towards the door, startled by the sudden noise.

“Vanessa?” All three harmonized beautifully.

“Well, it looks like we have company, Pe-” Vanessa looked around and saw Perry had suddenly disappeared. “Oh. He didn't want to come along. Thanks for the ride, I guess.” she muttered.

Perry had, in fact, disappeared around the corner, and was keeping an eye on them all from a distance. He would be happy to sit back until push came to shove in this case.

“So, did you come all this way just to see us?” Phineas grinned and elbowed Ferb. Ferb smiled and gave Vanessa a thumbs-up.

“No,” She cautiously continued, “My Dad's here on... business.”

Ferb raised an eyebrow. Phineas held up his laser cannon as if to show it off. “What a coincidence! So are we.” There was a sinister undertone to his voice that she couldn't shake off.

“Wait a second...” Candace connected dots in her head. “Did your Dad kidnap Isabella?”

“That's ridiculous, Candace! Flint kidnapped Isabella! We know about his evil plan and his awful attitude and his ugly face-”

“Your face, Phineas.”

“-Handsome face and chiseled jaw and spectacular physique and gigantic crazy brain, not to mention his obsession with Isabella.” Phineas finished. “Wait, what was I talking about?”

“Flint?” Vanessa recognized the name and rolled her eyes. “Oh, boy. Dad introduced me to him the other day. New employee.”

Now everyone was connecting dots.

“Alright, so if I can get this straight...” Phineas began, “Your dad is working with my extra-dimensional clone.”

“You've already lost me, Phineas.” Vanessa sighed. “Ferb?”

“Another Phineas and another Isabella. You have met our Isabella.” Ferb spoke quietly. “But there's other versions from other dimensions. Dangerous.”

“Sounds like the kind of thing that my Dad would be involved in. I'd never imagine that he'd kidnap a girl.”

“Almost a young woman.” Phineas added. Everyone looked at him silently. “Quinceanera. It's this month. Alright, irrelevant.”

The elevator _ding_ ed, ending an awkward silence. Everyone piled in. Phineas tried to hand Vanessa a laser gun, but she waved him away. “Let's try talking to him, first.” She looked at the laser gun again, and then quickly grabbed it out of his hands. “Wait a second, you made this?”

Phineas and Ferb nodded. Vanessa blasted the floor, causing all the residents of the elevator to leap into the air. “What was that for?” Candace spat, red in the face. Vanessa disregarded her, and instead looked at the burn mark left by the blaster.

“So you guys had a fight at DEI yesterday, didn't you?” Vanessa asked. The brothers seemed surprised. Candace seemed confused.

“We did! We didn't see your dad, though. At least not during the fighting part.” Phineas chuckled. “But you think you can talk him down?”

“Oh, if he knows what's good for him, he'll help us put a stop to all this.”

Perry had watched from the ceiling, crawling along with suction cups. Once they headed up, he supposed he would have to find another method to help without jeopardizing his identity.

* * *

Flint nervously approached the table outside the fridge that Isabella was being kept on. Suzy was relaxing. “Suze, can I talk to you for a second?” Suzy put her feet up on the table with a resounding thud. She looked up from her phone and smiled at him. He felt a sinister undertone.

“Sure. Whatcha thinkin?” Flint's stomach flipped a bit at her sweetened tone. He cleared his throat and slammed his arms down on the table.

“Suzanne, I don't think it's worth it. Or at least I'm not sure.” He grabbed his head. “Gah! It's tearing at me! Death! We're talking mass extinction! Genocide! On purpose!”

Suzy's mood changed as she grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face down to hers. “You can't get cold feet now, after getting me in on this crazy scheme! YOU-” She put a finger into his chest harshly- “already destroyed our dimension! That's the same bodycount, genius!”

“Yeah, but-”

“Phin, you're a smart guy. You know any utilitarian philosophy?”

“Yes?” Flint wasn't really asking.

“Consequentialism: based on outcome. Utilitarianism is the idea that one ought to produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

“How is this 'the greater good', exactly?”

“The difference lies in us, Phineas.” Suzanne took a decidedly softer tone, and cupped the side of his cheek. “Between the two of us, we can produce more practical good than the Phineas and Ferb of this universe. After all, what do they waste their talents on? Games? Parties? You broke new ground on dimensional travel along the third axis, and it stands to reason that no other Phineas has.”

Flint nodded along. “It's selfish. But we aren't  _ technically  _ killing anyone. Just replacing them.”

Suzanne smiled warmly, only a bit of anger bleeding through. “Exactly. In the future, with me by your side, we could achieve so much for humanity! Cure disease! End poverty! I help you make the right choices from here on and we're the ultimate force of good!”

Flint grinned as Suzanne let go of his collar. “Thanks, Suze. It's, uh, really nice to have someone in my corner for once. Twice.”

“It's nice to be in your corner.” They both heard the _ding_ of the elevator. “Party guests.” Suzanne muttered. “You grab the weapons. I'll grab Isabella, and I'll meet you topside.”

Flint nervously chuckled. This would all be over soon, and then things would be back to normal. Better, even.

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz was just about to leave out of what was apparently the only elevator in the building when it _ding_ ed. Vanessa stormed out of the compartment, pointing aggressively at her father.

“Dad! Is it true that you're working with alternate dimensional counterparts of my friends, and that you helped them set up this big lightning rod, and that you kidnapped a young girl to lure my friends here?”

“I was just coming to talk to you about that! Yes, yes, and-” He paused, “Wait a minute, kidnapped a young girl?”

“Isabella!” Phineas growled from behind Vanessa. “Surely you know she's missing?”

“I hardly know Isa-whatshername, let alone whether or not she's... gone missing.” Doofenshmirtz scratched the back of his neck. “It just seems out of character for Flint, you know?”

“We all misjudged Flint, Doctor.” Phineas huffed. “I didn't trust Isabella when I needed to, and at this point, frankly, the whole situation just rubbing it in.”

* * *

It was pretty cold on top of the Space Needle, and the heavy rain wasn't doing anyone any favors. Flint grimly attached the battery compartments to side of the machine and set the lightning rod to “on”. Bolts crackled from the sky, producing a thunderous sound.

“There's one half of the equation. Just need some probability in our favor and this doesn't tear apart both our dimensions.” Flint looked to Suzanne for approval. She nodded at him, almost neutral. Isabella was shocked. Not a trace of guilt, like she thought that she could do no wrong.

“This is insane.” She sputtered. “Even if this thing doesn't shred the fabric of space-time to itty-bitty pieces, I doubt it's going to work!”

Suzanne frowned at the prisoner for a second, slowly warping her expression into a smug grin. “Worst to worst, I'll at least know that just he and I managed to beat all your incompetent friends.”

“Bite me.” Isabella snarled. The trio heard clanking on the stairs, and they instinctively tensed for what was about to come next.

“Isabella!” Phineas practically tumbled up the stairs, Ferb in tow, Heinz following, Candace and Vanessa staying beneath the hatch. “You're okay!” He beamed.

“So, he baited you here with me?” Isabella asked. The boys nodded slowly. Vanessa boosted herself onto the roof.

“And you never stopped to ask why we baited you here in the first place.” Suzanne finished Isabella's thought for her. “For a couple of geniuses, you sure are stupid.” She pressed a button on a remote, and it clasped Isabella's handcuffs to the metal paneling on the roof. Isabella gasped in protest but found that the magnetic pull was too powerful.

Flint clasped his hands together, perfectly timed to the sound of thunder. It surprised everyone, even him, and he glanced at the sky for a second. Facing back towards the would-be rescuers, he fumbled out a statement. “It's, uh, really unfortunate that it's come to this.”

Heinz looked on mournfully and nodded slowly. Flint's voice nearly cracked. “It's just- there's no other way for me to get my life back.”

“There has to be!” Phineas pointed an accusatory finger at his double. “We could have figured it out together!”

“If I could just have your cooperation- you guys are cornered. We have a hostage, we have our machine, you know a fight between me and my partner and you two isn't exactly a coin-toss. Suze could destroy all 4 of you without much help.”

“Five.” Candace raised her hand, net launcher clasped, from the position she had taken just out of view beneath the roof hatch. A sudden gust of wind blew her weapon away, much to the boys' chagrin.

“Alright. Five. Including... Candace.” Flint practically squeaked.

“You don't sound so confident, pal!” Phineas started to walk towards Flint, but Suzanne stepped in front of him.

“He doesn't need to be. I am.”

“And what's gonna stop me from just taking you down too?” Phineas' brow furrowed. “I wouldn't hit a lady, but I'd hardly consider you one.”

“He crossed that line pretty fast, huh?” Candace whispered. Ferb shrugged.

“Well, you can't. You have to catch your friends.” Flint produced a ray from his back pocket and blasted Vanessa, Ferb narrowly dodging to the side. It encased her in a large bubble that slowly floated off the side of the building. “Sorry, boss. If it's any consolation, you won't remember her when I remake the universe.”

The bubble popped, dropping Vanessa down the entire height of the building. “Dad! Help!”

Heinz didn't even think before he sprung into action, leaping off the side of the building. He then realized that he probably should have thought, as all that he had accomplished was... also falling. “Hey, uh, Vanessa? It occurs to me that I don't actually have a way out of this.”

“Wha-? Then why'd you come after me? We'll both die!”

“It's obvious reasoning to me, of course. Fatherhood. But I've also got some good advice.” He raised a single finger to accentuate the point: “Try to use your legs to counter the shock of hitting the ground, so you don't die immediately and have a chance of getting to a hospital or something. I've been in this scenario before, you know.”

The two stuck out their legs beneath them and closed their eyes, bracing for impact. Suddenly, they felt something soft beneath them. The inflatable chairs they'd landed on slowly deflated as they sank into Perry's hover car. He chattered and tipped his hat, cranking the gearshift forwards and blasting off from beneath the tower back to Danville.

Up top, Ferb had just finished attaching a grapple device to the edge of the building and took a quick look down before he leapt after his allies. Surprised, but pleased, to find nothing, he quickly deduced that Heinz must have had something up his sleeve the whole time. He turned back to Phineas and gave a quick thumbs-up.

“Hah! Your little bubble-ray trick was worthless!” Phineas crowed triumphantly, before planting a leg and kicking, sweeping Suzanne's feet out from under her. She grabbed him on the way down, and he slipped on the wet surface of the building. The two slid precariously close to the ledge, with only the circular railing at the rim of the building protecting them from the fall. Ferb stepped towards his brother to help, but he growled up at him. “Take care of the other me and grab Isabella!”

Ferb wordlessly turned around to face Flint.

Suzanne trapped Phineas underneath her, grabbing his throat with both of her hands. His larger wingspan allowed him to push her face up, managing to flip her onto her back. Phineas planted his feet on the ground and dragged Suzanne to hers, locking her in a chokehold against the railing.

Ferb already had Flint on the ground. It was pretty much no contest. He gave his brother the thumbs up.

“Suzanne.” Phineas glared at her over her shoulder as a strange calm entered his voice. “You have a choice: Release Isabella, or take the long way down.”

“Good grief, Phineas. Chill out.” Ferb huffed rolled his eyes and slammed Flint's face back into the floor. “All drama today with you.”

“You don't have the stones, Flynn!” Suzanne struggled, but it appeared the two were at a stalemate.

“She's kinda right.” Candace pulled herself up onto the roof, strolled over to the pair of grappling teens, reached into Suzanne's pocket, and grabbed the remote. “And for the record, Phineas, that's crossing the line.”

“Yeah. Just disgusting.” Isabella intoned from the ground. Candace pushed the button and it released the girl from her bindings. She got up and shivered. “Now, can we please get out of here before we catch pneumonia?”

“Wait a second, why are you guys attacking me?” Phineas snapped back to his usual self, frowning. “They started it!” He seemed dismayed, letting go of Suzanne, who was so surprised she fell in a lump to the floor, grabbing onto one of the bars on the rim for stability.

Everyone was standing in an awkward kind of circle, except for Flint, who was at this point barely conscious. Ferb shrugged and headed back downstairs. Phineas and Isabella followed closely after.

“Wait, so that's it?” Candace yelled after him, “We're not going to call the police?”

“You try selling this story to the cops.” Isabella retorted. Candace sighed in defeat.

“And somebody dropped the net gun!” Phineas added.

“I guess you're right.” Candace slumped. She was just about to follow the crew down when she heard a moan from the floor.

“Candace...” Candace looked down at Flint, who rolled over and looked at her. “It feels like it's been a while since I've seen you.”

Candace wanted to hurry down to the car, but something planted her feet to the ground there, staring at the brother that wasn't hers.

“Candace, if there was any other way, I'd do it. But that's the nature of conflict, isn't it? Two sides arrive at an impasse. War ensues. People get hurt.” Flint was tearing up now. He sat up and put his hand on his knee. “I don't expect you, as someone who isn't REALLY family, to love me. The Candace that believed in me is gone, and the only way I get her back is by replacing you.”

Candace felt a pang of pain for him in her chest. Her fists clenched. “I understand the need to be loved. I understand that you feel the need to replace me. Phineas and Ferb might just be able to get along without me.” She suddenly leaned down, getting close to his face, as she adopted a grim expression. “But if you think, for one second, my empathy is going to stop me from protecting my brothers, you're dead wrong.”

“Oh, and hey! I heard you're getting married tomorrow! Congratulations!” Suzanne smiled as she pulled herself up onto her feet.

“Well, uh, thanks, I guess?”

“Yeah, I just think the idea that everyone's trash is someone's treasure... is so romantic. Say hi to the unlucky sucker for me, and watch your back.” Suzy helped Flint to his feet, and glared at Candace. Her harsh frown transformed into a goofy smile. “It's not a matter of if! It's whe-en!” Her singsongy voice synchronized with a crack of thunder. Flint felt an uncanny air of threat, and she was on his side.

Candace frowned and dejectedly headed down the ladder into the Space Needle.

* * *

Everyone piled into the van. “Dad!” Isabella hugged Joseph, who had been staring at a particularly interesting wall for the last hour or so. It seemed to snap him out of it. “You guys didn't tell me that he was here!”

“Well, uh, actually, he got us our first lead. Flint planned on having him along, for some reason.” Phineas shrugged. “He doesn't really seem like a long term planner. Like he only knows what he's gonna do...”

“...On any given, individual day. What kind of idiot doesn't roadmap this kind of thing?” Candace sarcastically quipped. Phineas felt 3 pairs of eyes on him. He chuckled nervously.

“Why are you all staring? We have a drive to make.” He wiped some sweat off his forehead.

“We'll do it at warp speed.” Ferb reached for the remote on the car's dash.

“No, we won't.” Joseph slapped his hand away and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “We are going to drive the whole way back while you three explain why we're fighting clones with lasers and gizmos and such.”

“Dad, I thought I told you about all this stuff. Phineas and Ferb kinda do it all the time, though usually the stakes aren't this high.” She leaned over the chair.

“Seatbelt on, young lady,” He grumbled, “and yes. Yes you have. We were just of the thought that you had overactive imaginations.”

“We?” Isabella sat down and strapped herself in next to Phineas. Ferb sat across and the brothers fastened their belts.

“'We' is apparently everyone.” Phineas frowned. “Tomorrow's gonna be a weird day.”

“Yeah.” Isabella frowned.

“The wedding and everything, you know. Crazy.”

“Yeah.” Isabella smiled just a bit.

“For the record, considering I just blew a chance to save Vanessa Doofenshmirtz' life, I may be going stag.” Ferb flatly sighed. “So, how about you, Phineas?” He glanced over at Isabella in a fashion that was frankly obvious to both of them.

“Oh! Yeah! Well, your old date kinda fell through. How about me?” Phineas grinned.

Isabella feigned thinking. “Well, you didn't really do much of the saving today, now did you? Really, Candace and Ferb were my knight's in shining armor.” Phineas' dismay was a delight to all the passengers of the van, even Joe. “All that you did was beat up a girl, that, for the record, looked, sounded, and fought exactly like me.” The gap between his upper and lower jaw got a bit larger. Isabella casually leaned into his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek.

“For the record, that's a yes. Thanks for the 'kinda' save, Phinny.”

“For the, uh, record...” Phineas said dreamily, “I sent Ferb after Flint because I know Ferb can beat me in a fight. I wouldn't let something, uh, as silly as ego, get in the way of... Where are we again?”

“Exactly where we ought to be.” Isabella blinked slowly as she realized how tired she was. Candace and Ferb stared at the two with amused expressions, but the two were too busy staring at each other to notice (“Phinny?” The siblings may have thought). Isabella's hand tiptoed over to Phineas, and it locked over his. Neither had any significant reaction to it, aside from light blushing. In no time at all, the girls were asleep, and Isabella was curled up against Phineas.

“A wedding and a funeral, then.” Joseph muttered under his breath before turning his attention back to the road. Ferb snickered. Phineas nervously laughed at a low volume.

* * *

“I can't believe I screwed it up again!” Flint spat as he threw parts into a plastic bin. The rain hadn't stopped, and Suzanne hadn't stopped staring at him while he packed up the _Drainatron._ He looked towards her with puppy-dog eyes. “My stupid emotions keep getting in the way of the efficiency of my plans!”

Suzanne walked over to the boy, her angry face nearly touching his. He gulped. Then, it turned into that same goofy, vaguely threatening smile and she set to the work of helping him pick up. “Emotions are totally normal, Phin. It's the stomping them out that I'm good at. It's almost shameful.”

“I just hate this whole situation! Why did this have to happen to us of all people? What did we do to deserve it?” He sniffled.

She set a part down in a bin and slapped him lightly in the cheek. “Phineas Flynn-Fletcher! That's not the way to be thinking!” His eyes met hers again, but this time they had a bit of fire in them. Her heart skipped a beat in surprise. Catching her breath, and trying not to let him notice, she turned her face away from his. “I admire that you have all these conflicting feelings, and that you press on in spite of it. It's rough, I know. But together, we can get through this.”

“Together sounds nice.” Flint grinned just a tiny bit.

The two stood in silence for a small eternity as Suzy caught her breath again. “Phineas Flynn-Fletcher, you are the cockiest, stupidest, bravest boy I have ever met.” Suddenly, she grabbed Flint's face and smashed it into hers, leaning into his lips. A surge of emotion passed through them like electricity. The kiss went on for what seemed like hours, and the two were heaving when they finally separated.

“So we're doing this?” Flint's grin became wider.

“Yeah.” Suzanne turned on her heel and faced away from him, sorting through more parts. She glanced back at him and smiled. “Together.”

The smile, for once, was completely genuine.

* * *

**A/N: Oh boy! That was a fun one to write! I look forward to hearing from you guys about it! Admittedly, the roadmap gag was a dig at myself as well: characterization is REALLY hard to plan. In the case of Flint and Suzanne, I figured that the increased pressure of the job and the reliance on each other made the romantic arc a forgone conclusion, but I hope I pulled it off right. I'm actually really tired right now since I stayed up late to watch CATU and it drove me to finish this. I've also been trying to keep track of how many days have passed in the story, and that's hard too. The big event has arrived!**

**Next Time:**

**Candace and Jeremy have a Wedding and Nothing Goes Wrong**

**Phineas was right: Tomorrow is a weird day!**


	10. Candace and Jeremy Have a Wedding and Nothing Goes Wrong

**A/N: Last chapter of the first part of the fic! The second will be coming along as soon as I have decent roadmap for it, because man did I not plan on this going some of the directions it did. Thanks for all the viewership and support! Fanfiction is a self-indulgent process, for the most part, but I also really like giving people a good laugh. The P &F fanfiction scene is kinda dead, but hopefully CATU injects it with some new life. Any of you guys out there that considered writing, take some time to pick up the ol' keyboard, because I sat on the idea for 5 years, and really wish I had started earlier. As always, read, review, and enjoy! Oh, and you Phinbella/ Ferbnessa fans, I'm finally getting there. As always, read and review!**

**BTW, this chapter may spoil elements of MML, but if you haven't seen it and don't care (heaven knows why) I've slipped in broad explanations.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Candace and Jeremy Have a Wedding and Nothing Goes Wrong**

“Well, shoot.” Phineas tapped his foot in frustration. It was the big day for his sister, and he had just received bad news, not even five hours from the wedding that he was supposed to be in charge of planning. He placed a phone call to his father, and waited for a few seconds as the dial tone sounded.

“Phineas? What's the matter?”

“Dad.” Phineas whispered into the phone, grabbing his hair with his free hand. “We've lost the Minister. A stroke of bad luck, or something. Was stuck in traffic when Milo walked by, and now his car's totaled and his leg is broken.”

“Hmm. I'll make some calls. Don't get Candace worried, though. She's stressed enough as it is.”

“Thanks, pop.” Phineas pumped his fist and grinned. “I need to collect the, uh, guests Ferb and I are bringing anyway.” He grabbed a tie of the counter.

“No problem, Son. Worst comes to worst, you probably know the ceremony front to back, right?”

“Yep. As much as Candace would hate it, I could pull it off.” He made an “ok” sign at Ferb, who was sitting across the room. Ferb grinned as he picked up the car keys, tossing them lightly in the air and snatching them with finesse, using his index finger to spin the keys on the ring. Phineas fiddled with his necktie for a bit but was unable to make it work for him.

The house was almost empty, as Linda and Candace had already left for a light lunch before the wedding. Phineas looked around. Perry had also gone. That wasn't what was on his mind, however.

“Hey, where's Isabella?”

Ferb rolled his eyes at his brother. Phineas caught the look, and scratched his chin for a second. “Oh, right. I've gotta go over THERE and get her today. Tradition, or something. You want to come?”

Ferb rolled his eyes even harder. Phineas shrugged. “What's your problem?” Ferb rolled his eyes for a third time. Phineas swung the door open as he walked out, grasping the tie he had failed to get around his collar. “And make sure Perry's in the house before we head out.”

Ferb looked around. There was a distinct lack of platypus.

* * *

Perry the Platypus had some trouble processing recent events. The effects of Milo's return, what was dubbed the “Milo Re-Memory”, were widespread, especially when it came to situation Doofenshmirtz. Firstly, the obvious: Doof's entire moral alignment had changed, and it might have made him obsolete. Heinz' Re-Memory had also brought to his attention that Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated was only called that because they hadn't replaced the sign; the actual name of the company was now “Doofenshmirtz Engineering Incorporated.” The sign hadn't been replaced for what was apparently financial reasons, being one of the few things that survived the initial demolition.

Having suddenly found himself out of an official job, Perry the Platypus realized that he could finally have a well-deserved break. Laying underneath the tree in the backyard just wasn't like it used to be, especially without the boys. He got up from his rest, shook the sleep from his eyes, and waddled inside to find Ferb.

“Oh, there you are, Perry.” Ferb knelt down and extended a hug to his pet, Perry happily obliging. Perry chattered in satisfaction as Ferb stroked his fur. Ferb whipped out his phone and suddenly remembered he was on a schedule. He set Perry down on the couch and smiled before disappearing out the door.

Perry lounged on the couch as he waited for his owners to return to the house. About 5 minutes into a nap, he remembered that there was a wedding happening, and they wouldn't be back for a while. He thought that perhaps this was a milestone worth seeing... from the shadows. Reaching under the couch cushion, he dug around for the stealth camo module the boys had lost, finding it in a manner of seconds. He chattered happily and left out the back door, being sure to close it on the way out.

* * *

“I'm just a bit apprehensive, Gretch.” Isabella sighed. She was laying in her bed the wrong way, with her feet resting on the wallpaper and her head near the bedpost. She had been prepared for Phineas' arrival for a bit, having put on makeup and a nice pink dress that ran the full length of her legs. ”Every time Phineas and I get a teensy bit closer, the universe seems to find some way to pull us apart. Remember the picnic back when we were kids?”

“You won't let me forget about it.” Gretchen's monotone elicited a chuckle from Isabella.

“Oh, fine, okay. Gosh.” Isabella sat up. “Jeez, the way he was acting yesterday, I could tell he was just a bit more into the whole rescue mission than everyone else. Of course, that could be me mistaking some trees for a forest. I'm just not sure if this is a 'date', y'know?” She smiled as she adjusted the neckline of the dress in the mirror, preforming a small twirl.

“Keep in mind, Isabella, that it was basically his fault that you were even in that situation in the first place, trusting some stranger over his supposed 'best friend'.”

“I can't believe you guys turned on him in my absence, too! He corrected his mistake, and he apologized, so we're all cool now.”

“That's so typical of you, Izzy. He messes with your emotions time and time again! This time he put you in danger! I think you can see that as your ally and advocate, I'm a little bitter. I just want you to demand he treat you better is all.”

Isabella thought for a moment. “You might be... partially right. Let's see if today is the big breakthrough, eh? Speaking of how we're treating someone, how's the Gretchn't situation?“

“Gretchen't is still staying in that little place we had the boys make for her and Suzanne. Phineas practically begged us to let her stay there, since she wasn't comfortable staying with the boys. She isn't joining the wedding party, of course, but that's no worry, because _Arrested Development_ got canceled after the second season in her dimension and she wants to see how it concludes.”

“Sounds good to me. What are you planning on wearing?”

The girls discussed their dress options for a minute or two until Isabella heard a knock from downstairs. She smiled manically, barely able to contain herself. “Gretchen, I gotta go! He's here!”

She headed downstairs, passing by her parents bedroom. Joseph finished buttoning up his suit, and took to the insurmountable task of tying an actual tie. It was embarrassing, but without assistance, he had found himself hiding that he used a clip-on for the entirety of his deployment. After some unsuccessful attempts, Vivian, who was much better at this sort of thing, grabbed the tie and wrapped it around her husband's neck.

“Crazy how fast these kids grow up.” He wistfully huffed. Just yesterday, it seemed, he was teaching Isabella judo throws in the backyard. Now she was totally out of his control, it seemed. Getting into crazy trouble and inter-dimensional wars and all that sort of thing. At least, it seemed, he had done a good job of making her cut out for it. “Hey, do you know about that Phineas kid?”

“What don't I know?” Vivian chuckled. “Isabella describes in great detail basically anything that she even sees as a romantic move. And those crazy stories they come up with are something else. How did she say she ended up in Seattle with him, then?”

Joe realized his revelation might be unbelievable, so he took the conversation elsewhere. “Uh, you might have noticed, I, uh, wasn't super, uh, upset about it.” Joe adjusted his collar a bit. “Didn't ground her or anything.”

“Yeah. And it surprised me, darling. She was totally out of line!” Vivian pulled the tie just a bit to tight and Joseph hacked. It quickly loosened.

“There's more to it than just her running off. Apparently it wasn't ALL her idea.” Joseph thought it ironic that for the same reasons it never worked for Candace, he would have a hard time describing the incident to his wife. _What can I leave out?_ He wondered.

“Well, firstly, I'm a terrible judge of character. Flint was involved, so he won't be around anymore, and if he is, we're calling the cops. Secondly, she told me she was heading out with a friend, and I gave her permission. Wasn't aware that they were going out so far.” Joseph noticed Vivian stopped mid-tie. “Hey, don't worry. He didn't rough her up or anything. As you can see, she's resilient as ever. I think we've been giving her a bit too much independence is the problem.”

Vivian snickered behind him. Joseph craned his head but failed to turn it 180 degrees. “What's so funny? I thought you were worried.”

“Of course you're a poor judge of character.” She chucked a small bit. “You don't like Phineas Flynn.”

“Oh, believe me, yesterday gave me plenty of reasons to hate the kid, too. Three hours of driving will do a lot.” Joseph angrily muttered.

“Seattle is six hours away, though.” Vivian stopped on her way out the door.

“Not with the Flynn-Fletchers, it isn't.”

Downstairs, Isabella opened the door, trying to hide her excitement. Phineas was standing there, nervously fidgeting, necktie in his hands. He had also dressed more carefully than usual, opting for black slacks and a white dress shirt with a sharp black jacket he left unbuttoned. “G-good evening. How ya doin?” He stuttered a bit.

“I'm doing... good.” Isabella smiled sweetly. Phineas' nerves very rarely got to him like this. Her mood was heightened, and he was paying enough attention to tell. He scratched the back of his neck nervously before extending his other hand and grinning.

“Alright, well, Ferb's driving, since I've got just the permit, and we have to go pick up Vanessa before we head to lunch.”

“Oh? I thought he was 'going stag'.” Isabella twirled her hand up in the air dramatically. Phineas chortled. “Well, I'm glad for him.” _More time for us, I suppose._ She tilted her head slightly as she stepped off the porch.

“Wait a sec, you two! Phineas. I need to talk to you real quick.” Phineas tensed just the tiniest bit at the sound of Joseph's voice. He had been acting a little aggressive lately, and the Flynn-Fletcher siblings weren't really sure how he was taking the whole “Inter-dimensional conflict” thing. Isabella's worried smile quickly communicated to him that she shared the same feelings.

“Alright, Mr. Garcia-Shapiro.” Phineas tried his best not to lose his voice. He stiffly walked inside as Joseph came down the stairs. He was about a head taller than Phineas still, so when they met in the middle of the room he was an intimidating presence to be sure.

“Phineas.” His voice was a lot less distressed than they had heard yesterday. In fact, it was awfully serious. Quiet, too. He put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. “This whole... thing that's been going on. I need your guarantee that you're not gonna take your eyes off her.”

Phineas glanced back at Isabella, who waved at him and grinned. That would not be a problem. “Yessir.”

“If I'm being honest, I'm less qualified to make sure she's safe than you are.”

“Uh... yessir?” He wasn't super sure that it was the correct answer, but Joseph nonetheless patted him on the shoulder and waved him off.

“You two have a good time.” He turned around and began to head back up the stairs. “Not too good, though.” He quickly added, in a lower tone only Phineas could hear. Phineas' goosebumps started to die down, and he walked out the door to meet the still grinning Isabella.

“What did he say? Did he try to scare you?” Isabella humorously prodded his stomach.

“No, no. The opposite, actually.” Phineas waved nonchalantly as he wrapped his hand around his friend's. “He, uh, actually told me I'm kinda in charge of protecting you.”

“Pffft. I'm in charge of protecting me.” Isabella cockily smirked. “It'll be nice to have some... backup.” Phineas smiled. It was nice to not be under so much pressure, for the first time in a while. Or at least it wouldn't have been, had the boy not received an unfortunate text.

“Crud! Dad couldn't get a replacement!” Phineas rubbed his temple with his free hand. “Isabella, we might have to skip lunch, or at least delay it until I can put this together.”

“No way!” Isabella stopped and stamped her foot. “The one time you and I can finally-” She stammered.

“Hang out?” Phineas worried that an aneurysm might be impending. _Was she always like this?_

“Hang out! Suddenly we're hitting an improbable run of bad luck!”

“Well, considering that Milo was the root cause of the problem, I wouldn't call it improbable, except by scientific definition, but-”

“Could you just...” Isabella made an exaggerated strangling motion before quickly retracting her hands. “I'll come with you. Let's sort this out together, alright?”

“You sure? I'd hate to make you miss lunch, Ferb and Vanessa could...”

“The lunch is the bottom of my priority list.” Isabella caught herself. “Candace is counting on you, which means she's counting on me.” Even on a date, which might not be a date, she could barely muster the courage to say anything directly romantic. Apparently, neither could Phineas, because his feelings were as hard to read as always, in spite of his open tone.

“Together does sound nice, then.” Phineas grinned sheepishly. “I'll borrow Ferb's car after the two get to lunch and we'll go pick up whatever pastor we can get our hands on.”

“You make it sound like a kidnapping.” Isabella playfully frowned at him. The two walked together out to the curb.

“And learn to tie a tie! Don't think I didn't see it in your pocket, Flynn!” The two flinched at the sudden yell from the Garcia-Shapiros front door. Isabella rolled her eyes. Ferb had pulled out the car, and was waiting for them. Phineas opened the back door for Isabella, slipping in behind her. The car was an oldie, but a goodie. A restored purple convertible with the top down: the most “summer” vehicle that Phineas could think of when he restored it for Ferb's birthday on his 16th. As per the Flynn-Fletcher standard, the vehicle was loaded with so many outlandish gadgets that you could make one up on the spot and it would already be loaded in.

Phineas leaned around the front driver's seat. “Ferb, there's been a small change of plans. As of right now, I'm gonna need to borrow the car to get a new minister for the wedding after we get to lunch.” Ferb glanced back at Isabella. “She's with me.” Ferb let the smallest smile escape his lips. Good for her.

The drive to Doofenshmirtz Evil- I mean Engineering- Incorporated was mostly uneventful. “Hey, so, Ferb. Is it official? With Vanessa, I mean? You two gonna be a thing from now on?” Isabella asked. Ferb grinned.

“About as official as the backseat of this car.” He smugly intoned.

“These leather seats were actually from the original manufacturer, you know.” Phineas patted the seat and chuckled. Isabella was confused, mostly.

“Wait, what were you referring to?” Phineas asked.

* * *

Flint and Suzanne were sitting in the front seat of a U-Haul they had “rented” from a “rental agency” in “Seattle”. Suzanne was idly reading a book, her feet up on the dashboard. Flint had figured that she didn't want to be bothered, and was focused on the road. Because his universe was technically a year older than the universe they were currently in, he could technically legally drive a car, not that it mattered, because he had never driven before in his life, and was not licensed.

“These are so much harder to steer than any of the stuff I make. Why can't I just attach a remote control to it?”

Suzanne looked up from her book. “Wait, you don't know how to drive?”

The car swerved out of the left lane just in time to avoid hitting a banana truck. Flint sheepishly shrugged. “I thought I would get the hang of it pretty fast.”

“You moron! I know how to drive! Why didn't you ask me to?”

“It-it-it didn't occur to me, alright?” Flint shrugged, less sheepishly and more panicked-ly this time. “Besides, I thought you wanted to read.”

“I want to be alive when we get to Danville, Phin.” She muttered, her expression of exasperation drew a little chuckle out of Flint. “What, is that funny?”

Flint grinned as he pulled over (smashing the front bumper in a ditch, but hey, it's a “rental”). “A little?”

The girl's indignant look stayed on for about 5 seconds before she started to snicker. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

The two switched seats. Flint put his feet up on the dash and picked up Suzanne's book. “Would you like me to read aloud to you while you drive? Two birds with one stone.”

“As much as I would like you serenade me with the gory details of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, I would rather know... Whatcha plannin'?”

“The last thing I planned was us stealing this U-Haul. I don't really have a plan for when we get to Danville.”

Suzanne's eyes widened as she felt a metaphorical vein burst in her temple. “You just do this stuff off the cuff, don't you?”

Flint frowned. “I guess. Let me see here, what do we know about today on the subject of our targets?”

“Candace Flynn is marrying somebody. So they're all gonna be at a wedding.”

“Right, she's marrying Jeremy Johnson at the First Baptist of Danville around 5 tonight.”

Suzanne's jaw dropped. “There's a Jeremy in this universe?”

“Yeah. He even has a sister named Suzy.” Flint glanced at her, and quickly took note of her shellshocked reaction. “Crazy, right? Look out for that porcupine.”

The U-Haul barely missed the prickly animal that had been crossing the street. “That must have been rough for you, seeing Candace yesterday. And she really let you have it, too.”

“Yeah. I'll spare you seeing Jeremy. Trust me, it's like dropping a bomb on your psyche.” Flint pulled out a notebook and began to brainstorm, tapping his chin with the pencil's eraser. “I suppose the parts from the Dimensional Drainatron could be modified to...” His face reflected a sudden eureka moment, which that Suzanne secretly found a little cute. He started writing so fast that the lead on the pencil became a cloud of smoke.

Opening the window to let out said smoke, he blew on his notepad and rubbed off some lead dust. “I've got it, Suze! We can build a bomb!”

“I'm listening.”

“We simply create a power source based on the energy we get from dropping an object, and we leave the battery pods open, so we can just drop it NEAR the boys, harness the ions, and open the dimensional rift!”

“That sounds implausible at best.” Suzanne rolled her eyes, glimpsing a dissapointed look from her partner. “but I'm on board.” She quickly added. Flint smiled.

“We just need a place to drop it near the church...” He rubbed his chin.

“If that old scientist buddy of yours is gonna be at that wedding, the odds are we can just let ourselves in.”

“But what are the odds that he actually ends up at that wedding?”

* * *

“Hah! Two birds with one stone!” Phineas crowed triumphantly, raising his arms into the air. Heinz Doofenshmirtz was crowded into the backseat of Ferb's car with Phineas and Isabella, making an imperfect fifth wheel to their double date that might not really be a date. “I can't believe Doctor D is an ordained minister!”

“Yeah.” Vanessa said under her breath, “Neither could I.” She crossed her arms. Ferb was glad to have solved their pending issue, but shared Vanessa's distaste. Isabella was thrilled to be crushed up against Phineas, and was doing a really bad job of disguising it.

“What, are you glad to see him again or something?” Phineas asked, practically breathing down her neck. He adjusted himself slightly to let her rest her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah?” Isabella took what she got. Phineas lowered his arms, which meant that he slipped one over her shoulder... But it didn't mean that much, because he also put one over Doof's.

“Thanks for agreeing so readily, doctor.” Phineas warmly smiled at Heinz.

“I'm just putting my degree to work.” The doctor shrugged. “Wait, I'm getting paid for this, right?”

“Dad!”

“Just kidding! Just kidding!”

The rest of the ride was mostly a very comfortable silence, which coincidentally was Ferb's favorite method of communication. He smiled with satisfaction. Phineas and Isabella mostly just smiled to themselves as they enjoyed each other's closeness. Vanessa scowled at the rear view mirror.

* * *

Lunch was at a small mom and pop joint, “The Diner Downtown”. The whole place was originally built in the 1950's as a soda fountain, but had recently undergone refurbishments. That was not to say the diner was more modern, as it retained it's aesthetic, but the whole place was very neat and tidy.

The group had originally planned on taking booth seats, but the booths could only hold 4 people, and their party had suddenly expanded. Phineas quickly directed Isabella to the booth on the opposite side of the room, leaving Ferb and Vanessa to handle Heinz. Ferb shot him a death glare the likes of which he had never seen. Phineas grinned mischievously in return.

Ferb reluctantly took his seat across from Vanessa... and Heinz. “Don't mind me, just, er, pretend I'm not even here.” Doofenshmirtz awkwardly tugged on his collar. There were plenty of seats open, so this was a conscious choice. How he could feel threatened by a 16 year old was the real question. Ferb cleared his throat and buried himself in his fold-out menu, and Vanessa did the same. “I already know what I want.” Heinz confidently sat back.

The server was along shortly. “Afternoon. What would you like to eat?” His monotone suggested a statement despite it being a question.

“I would like-” Ferb started.

“I just need a plain burger. And before you serve us, I would like to inform you that I do not intend-”

“I'll cover it.” Ferb raised his voice slightly, cutting off Heinz tersely.

“Dear God...” Vanessa muttered in a low tone, putting her hand up to her forehead and lowering her chin to the table. Ferb folded his menu.

“I would like a 'Officer Rodriguez 5-0 Burger' and my friend will have a 'Southern BBQ Club'. Just water for me and the old man, a diet cola for her.” Ferb's cool recital sounded like he had a script down. The server simply smiled, wrote down the orders, took the menus, and proceeded to the other table.

“Thanks, Ferb.” Vanessa whispered, keeping low to the table. “But for the record, I also wanted a 'Rodriguez'.”

Ferb frowned slightly, having recalled she mentioned a love of barbecued foods in their text exchanges. “Well, I guess I'm having a barbecue club, then.” She smirked at him. It sent his heart all sorts of fluttering, a feeling he wasn't used to.

“You totally got the soda right, though. Impressive.” She crossed her arms and sat back, smirking. Ferb grinned nervously and raised a slightly twitching thumbs-up.

“I don't see what the point of not tipping is if someone's just going to cover it.” Heinz huffed.

“And I don't see the point of not tipping if you're trying to turn over a new leaf.” Vanessa retorted sarcastically.

“Baby steps.” Ferb whispered. Vanessa giggled and Heinz felt his face burning up.

The server had an equally colorful experience over at the other table. Phineas and Isabella were already giggling, hiding behind their menus.

“Okay, okay. Lemme take a shot at this, then.” Phineas put his menu down and folded it. “The lady would like a BLT.” This rewarded him a shocked stare from his date. He put his hands up defensively. “-With turkey bacon, specifically. No-go on the pork.” Her face quickly turned into a grin as she chuckled.

“Got it.” The server mumbled into his notepad.

“And the GENTLEMAN,” Isabella emphasized, “would like a cheeseburger, no onions, with a fried egg on top and some bacon. Whatever variety.” Phineas stifled some laughter, holding his hand up to his face. The server was mostly annoyed. Nonetheless, he wrote the orders down and walked off. A few second passed in silence between the two at the table.

“You totally nailed me, Phineas.” Isabella sat back in the chair, arms behind her head.

“You were pretty close, too, but I like barbecue sauce on the roof of my burgers.” Phineas proudly declared, “So I'm the closest, therefore, I win.”

“And by totally nailed me, I meant I like my BLT's extra-toasty, and you failed to recognize that.”

“You made that up on the spot!” Phineas protested. “But fine. I guess it's a tie.”

“Speaking of...” Her eyes drifted to Phineas' slacks' pocket, where the tie was still bundled up. “Do you really have trouble tying a tie?”

“If it wasn't such a formal occasion, I would be wearing a clip-on.” Phineas dejectedly looked down at his pocket.

“Funny, my dad wears a clip-on whenever my mom's not around to do it for him.”

“Isn't he... away at sea a majority of the year?”

“I said what I said.” Isabella scooted forward just the tiniest bit. Finally, the two were at a loss for conversation, so naturally, a new topic had to be chosen. Phineas looked around the room.

“You know, this is the same place where we got ice cream on your birthday five years ago.” Phineas casually started. “I think that was our first date.”

“F-first?” Isabella stammered slightly. A sudden silence covered the table, like a blanket of nerves.

“Yeah... First.” Phineas' brow furrowed. “You know we don't get to be alone that often, so that's what I'd consider...”

“Consider? Phineas, we haven't... BEEN dating.” Isabella looked worried. “Are you, like, Flint in disguise or something?”

“Flint!” Phineas snapped his fingers. “Yeah, that's what started this whole mess. I thought we kinda had a whole steady thing going, but then this dude shows up and suddenly it's like we haven't been a thing for as long as we've known each other!”

“We... haven't been a thing for as long as we've known each other.” Isabella rested her elbows on the table. “Right?”

“But we did all that stuff together, you know? The haunted house, the Paris trip, which I'll admit I had to focus on since we were off schedule, but I brought it back, right? uh...” He scratched the back of his head. “We're practically inseparable. Like, almost as much as Ferb and I.”

“Wait, are you saying we've had a mutual crush on each other for the past five-” She covered her mouth suddenly.

Phineas sat there, rubbing his chin, processing thoughts for a few seconds. He leaned back on his seat and laughed. “Oh my gosh! You had no idea? It was so obvious!” He waved a hand to the side. “I was really just nervous about romance, you know. I was 10! So I just decided, 'Hey! Let's see if I can pick this up when I'm feeling romantic!' and here we are.” His tone was very factual.

“You're feeling romantic?” Isabella was unprepared. This was not exactly the confession she was expecting.

“Yeah. In hindsight, I probably should have started earlier.” He paused for a moment before he raised his eyebrows. “Oh my gosh. Was that why we saw less of each other last year? You thought I didn't like you?”

“Y-yeah.” Isabella was getting more and more accustomed to this idea by the second. Yes, perhaps. In hindsight, she had been blind to how much he cared about her. The revelation came with a hint of anger, at herself or Phineas, she didn't know.

“Who wouldn't like you? I was worried you stopped liking me!” Phineas threw his head back as he put his palm to his face. “Do you know how bad that would have been?”

Isabella's anger disappeared in a flash. She started laughing uncontrollably, nearly falling over in her seat. Her confusion answered, her great question finally laid to rest, and the answer was that she was the fool the ENTIRE TIME!

“Yeah, I started questioning our relationship when Flint showed up and he landed that date with you, and then that whole fiasco with the kidnapping. So from your perspective..?”

“I was wondering whether or not you liked me... like that. This whole time.”

Phineas got quiet, resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his palm. “Well, gee. I'm sorry. Really sorry. I just figured you kinda got what we had.”

“You are legendarily bad at understanding emotions, Phineas Flynn.” She grinned at him as her finger circled the top of a salt shaker.

“I am? Well, right now, to me, it looks like you couldn't be happier, and I am forgiven.” He smugly crossed his arms.

“The rule of broken clocks, Phin. And... You will have to make up for this.” She sharply retorted.

Phineas grinned. “Well, I'm glad psychopathic inter-dimensional counterparts of ours came into this dimension and reminded us why we like the real thing so much.” He leaned forward, resting his chin on the table. His date responded in kind, touching the tip of his nose with hers. Ferb looked on with some jealousy as they got lost in each other's eyes. Some people bump into each other and they just have a happy ending. He was going to need to put some effort into getting his. He looked back at Vanessa, who was also staring at the two. She turned to him and smirked smugly. Heinz was on his phone, takking away at the buttons at just a loud enough volume as to surgically remove any romantic atmosphere the room had.

“Oh, man!” Ferb heard from the table across. “Just imagine if I hadn't figured this out! It would have been years before we did something like this again!”

Phineas and Isabella were practically in tears laughing, the girl banging a fist lightly against the table. “Yeah, imagine that!” Her voice cracked slightly, getting an even harder laugh out of her companion.

“Sounds miserable.” Heinz muttered.

Isabella suddenly reached across the table, practically lunging for Phineas' pocket, snatching the tie out. Phineas' laugh abruptly cut off as he flinched. “Whatcha doin?” He asked.

Isabella tied the tie around her own neck effortlessly. “Showing you how it's done.” She smugly gloated. Phineas frowned, but not without some humor in his expression. The girl untied the tie as quickly as she had put it on and threw it across the table. Phineas picked it up and made a few awkward attempts at a Four-in-Hand Knot.

“Oh, just turn your back to me already.” Isabella got up and sat down next to her date, reaching around his body and grabbing the tie. “Besides, a Four-In-Hand is simple, and everyone knows it.” She took a deep breath before executing a perfect Full Windsor effortlessly. She tightened it around his neck, noticing some goosebumps had sprung up on the back of it. She smiled to herself, dusted off her hands theatrically, and sat back down across from Phineas.

Phineas' head was swirling.

“How the tables turn...” Vanessa muttered. Ferb chortled.

* * *

Lunch past that point was uneventful. On the way to the venue, the boys quickly ran Heinz through the proceedings in the backseat as Vanessa and Isabella sat up front, with the older of the two taking the reigns of the vehicle. “We're going for a traditional processional.” Phineas pointed at a pamphlet containing a program of the event. “VERY traditional. Candace was super specific about it. That means Grandparents, Parents, Groom, Officiant-” Ferb pointed at the tip Doofenshmirtz' nose.

“Yeah, I know. That's me.”

“- The rest of the wedding party, flower girl, then finally the ring bearer. Our Grandparents on Dad's side came by plane, and are probably here by now, since that was Dad's job.”

Ferb whipped out his cell phone and shot his father a text to confirm, giving Phineas an “ok” sign. He grabbed the pamphlet out of Doctor Doofenshmirtz' hands and flipped it around, showing him the page that contained a list of the processional members.

“I can't believe Suzy Johnson of all people is the flower girl.” Isabella turned around to face the boys.

“You and Candace always used to go on about how dangerous she was, and she never was.” Phineas chuckled as he eased himself back in his seat. “What, do you still think she's evil?”

“Nah, just surprised she made up with Candace. You know how bad girls get.”

“Actually, I don't.” Phineas shrugged. “I mostly know cool ones.”

“Lucky.” Ferb interjected. Vanessa gave him a curious look in the rear view mirror. He simply smirked at her. She shook her head, snickering under her breath.

“Who's the ring bearer, anyways?” Vanessa asked. Phineas took a moment to remember.

“I think Suzy's playing both roles. Jeremy's nephews are out of town, and she objected to me going to the future to grab her son.”

“One of her sons, you mean.” Isabella corrected.

“I'm going to forget I heard that, McFly.” Phineas rolled his eyes at her.

“Oh, sorry.” Isabella giggled. Vanessa put her arm up on the back of her seat. She hadn't been this relaxed in a long time.

Perry had been on the back of this car, camouflaged, the entire time. Pretty sneaky, huh? He got off the car and, true to his nature, checked his surroundings, especially eyeing the DEI building. He decided it would be best if he stood guard.

* * *

The Flynn-Fletcher clan had finally gathered with their friends at the First Baptist of Danville. The crowd was sizable, containing members of the Johnsons, the Garcia-Shapiros, the Hiranos, the Van Stomms, and a few personal friends as well. Phineas and Ferb hopped out of the car, the others lagging behind, as they rushed into the lobby to hug Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher. “Gramps!” Phineas hugged his grandfather tightly. He released and the two looked each other up and down.

“Phineas and Ferb, my stars! You boys have grown into fine young lads, you have!” Reginald grabbed Ferb and gave his hair a tousle. Winifred hugged Phineas.

“And you're still old!” All of them laughed heartily. Vanessa, Heinz, and Isabella finally straggled through the door. Isabella quickly put herself at Phineas' side.

“Hey, Mr. Fletcher! Mrs. Fletcher!” She beamed at the two. Reginald picked up Isabella in a big bear hug. His bad knee held up, since his prosthetic was a birthday gift from the boys earlier that year.

“Isabella! How's the old Fishmonger band?” He set her down, and she took some time to get her bearings.

“We're doing great, Mr. Fletcher. Just finished our first years of high school, as a matter of fact.” She looked around, spotting a few of her Fireside Girls in the crowd. Baljeet and Ginger were getting along famously. He had even gained enough confidence to put his arm around her shoulder.

“Please, call me Reginald. Same goes for Winnie, too.” Reginald put his arm around his wife. Ferb quickly whipped out his phone and started showing his grandfather some of his favorite inventions from the past years. The two crowded into their own little group, Reginald taking an intense interest in his grandson's work.

Conversations flowed freely between all the guests with the exception of one Joseph Garcia-Shapiro, who kept nervously adjusting his tie, looking over his shoulder. He had the distinct feeling that Flint and Suzanne weren't taking the day off just because Candace was getting married. In war, it's easiest to defeat your enemies if they're all neatly packed in one spot, and this was a choke-point if he ever saw one.

Milo Murphy casually strolled into the venue. A sign fell down behind him.

* * *

“You were right. He isn't here.” Flint used his spare key to the building to get inside Doofenshmirtz Engineering Incorporated's penthouse apartment. “I guess he'll be at the wedding, then, too.”

“Well, at least we had some luck this morning.” Suzanne grinned as the two each carried a box of components into the building. “We should have enough time to build this thing while our enemies are completely unaware.” She set the box down and rubbed her hands together maliciously. She had already disabled the elevator, and it was a long climb.

“With them all gathered, it's a nice spot for an ambush. How are we gonna extract Doofenshmirtz and his daughter, though? We have no idea what it's gonna do to anyone actually caught in the admittedly small blast radius.”

“How about – duh - we don't?” Suzanne thunked Flint on the forehead with her index finger, sporting an amused expression. “They spat in the face of our mercy yesterday!”

“I suppose. Might not actually kill anybody other than the boys, anyways. Just replace 'em.” Flint cracked his knuckles and started to work. He was completely unaware of two things: The Fireside Girls were effected by positivity ions, and Milo Murphy would be at this wedding.

* * *

The processional proceeded as well as a professional processional could proceed. The Grandparents took their seats in the pews on the sides of the sanctuary, followed by the parents, with the exception of one Lawrence Fletcher. Jeremy Johnson, who you haven't seen in a while, strode confidently down the aisle, sharply dressed in a black tuxedo with a red bow-tie. He had envisioned himself in this moment since the day he first kissed Candace, and now he was here. He didn't, however, expect the officiant that followed him to be a hunchbacked, online-certified pharmacist who had clearly gone and gotten a suit last minute. He hadn't met Heinz many times before, so he hoped the boys were right in trusting him for the job.

The rest of the wedding party filed through the room, taking their seats in the back. Ferb, holding Vanessa's hand grabbed a spot next to Linda, who looked like she hadn't slept in days. Getting back from what they called a mostly uneventful trip to Seattle to the last-minute wedding details was stressful for the Flynn-Fletcher parents. Isabella, a few seconds behind due to her dress, was carefully led by Phineas into the spot next to Vanessa. Phineas slipped in next to her, tucking his hands in his lap. Isabella glanced behind her to see that Baljeet's family was sat behind them, accompanying the Hiranos. Baljeet nervously kept a bit of distance between him and his date.

 _Boy, I hope they're not too tired to stay awake._ Phineas leaned over and curiously peered at his mother's baggy eyes, completely forgetting that he was in the middle of his own personal crisis. Ferb handed his mother a glass of water, which she quickly downed. He then slipped under the pews undetected to throw away the Styrofoam cups, and returned in seconds. He gave his younger brother a thumbs-up.

Coltrane was, obviously Jeremy's best man, and his old bandmates joined as groomsmen, taking their place next to Jeremy. The bridesmaids filed in, consisting of Candace's best friends. Taking up the rear as the maid of honor was Stacy, who you now remember hasn't actually appeared until now. Vanessa didn't reconnect with Candace in time to get a spot, to her relief.

The dual act of flower girl and ring bearer was none other than not-so-little Suzy Johnson, who was by now about 10. She happily agreed to both roles after getting over Candace and Jeremy's relationship in a surprising twist when she was 9. One could suspect that it came from the idea of romance finally solidifying itself in her head as something extraneous from immediate family, which is to say it was because she developed a crush on Buford Van Stomm.

For the record, 15 year old Buford was having none of it.

Suzy presented the rings to Coltrane and Stacy. Coltrane leaned around Jeremy's back and whispered something along the lines of “He'll enjoy his castle” to Stacy, earning a stifled laugh from her and Jeremy. Jeremy tried his best to keep composure and shoot his friend a disapproving glare, but couldn't keep a straight face.

Finally, after what seemed like eons, Candace Flynn, accompanied by Lawrence Fletcher, walked down the aisle. The dress the boys had made with the Fireside Girls' help (And a bit of Flint's) was a showstopping masterpiece. Phineas almost couldn't help but take pride less in that his sister was getting married and more in the dress he had designed walking the aisle with her. Phineas glanced back at his companions, and it was at this point that he became distracted.

Something in Isabella's eyes was different when she watched Candace walk down that aisle. Her imagination sent her to a land of possibilities. One day she was gonna walk that aisle. Wear that dress. Be given away by her father. The whole idea made her brain swirl, so much so that she didn't see Phineas eyes practically glued to hers.

Phineas felt a lump rise up in his throat. A person isn't like a computer. You can't break it down into parts, you can't study it, and you can't guarantee the outcome of any given action. Romance, “real” romance, he realized, might be his one fear. Perhaps that was the reason he was so distant. Disregarding that fear for a moment, he twisted his left hand up in Isabella's right, and tore his gaze away from her and back to the proceedings. The rapid beating of his heart wouldn't let him alone.

* * *

“Okey-dokey.” Flint dusted off his hands as he plugged in a single power cord to a single power outlet. A large, cartoonish bomb was suspended by a crane arm over the block below. The console next to it displayed all sorts of data-streams and graphs. “I am almost done.”

“Took you long enough.” Suzanne folded up the newspaper that she had been reading. It was a few weeks old, but without reading the date she couldn't tell. She examined the machine and beamed proudly. “Good job, Phin, but when are we dropping this thing?”

“Patience is a virtue. I'm going to use these monitors over here-” He pointed at the graphs “-to double-check some stuff. Like whether or not this hastily constructed extra-dimensional dirty bomb will rip us to shreds or not.”

“Patience is a virtue.”

The size of the bomb hanging off the side of the building attracted the attention of Perry, who quickly rushed into the DEI building. He poked the elevator call button, but he had no such luck. Realizing his foes had cut the power, he slammed into the stairwell door and sprinted up the seemingly endless ascent.

* * *

After Lawrence lifted the traditional wedding veil, Heinz nervously addressed the crowd, making eye contact sporadically with the few people he knew. “Uh... uhm, I know from memory that I'm supposed to have something to say here, but, uh, I kinda showed up on short notice so I'm a bit behind on things. Good luck, I guess. Loving someone for a long time is often a difficult and time-consuming process, not to mention joint-filing taxes can be a real pain. Oh! And decorating! Man, is it hard to argue with a woman. In the case that this union ends in a horrible disaster, know that at the very least you'll probably still get something out of it to cherish for the rest of your life.” He glanced at an embarrassed Vanessa for a second before looking around at the room, full of blank stares, before clearing his throat and continuing. “So, in summary, the best I can do for you is... Gee, hope it goes better than my marriage.”

Vanessa's face sank as Ferb elbowed her, not even trying to hide his massive smile. She slumped over in the pew, trying to avoid any stares from sympathetic friends. Candace glared at Heinz with a barely concealed fury, but Jeremy's barely concealed grin quickly brought her down to earth again.

“I have prepared a few words, pastor...” Jeremy started.

“Doctor.”

“Doctor Doofenshmirtz.” He snickered. Rather than pull out a piece of paper, Jeremy had memorized his vows over the course of the past week. He met Candace's eyes directly and shot her his most roguish grin. “Candace Flynn, from the moment we met I wanted to get to know you. As soon as I got to know you, I wanted to date you. As soon as I started dating you, I wanted to kiss you, and from the moment we shared that kiss, I wanted to marry you. Spending the rest of my life with you is not something I or anyone deserve, but you chose me when you could take your pick. Anything less than complete and absolute loyalty would be an insult to your character. I love you, Candace Flynn. Until death do us part.”

Candace could barely see straight. The moment was so surreal that she felt she was fumbling words and mixing ideas. “J-J-Jeremy Johnson. I, uh, I... Sorry, I'm having... trouble getting this out. It's just... a lot, you know?” Jeremy leaned forward, grabbing the rings from Coltrane and Stacy, and gingerly slipping hers' onto her finger. He opened her palm and pressed his ring into it.

“You don't have to say a word.” Jeremy guided Candace's hand around his ring finger, sliding it on in a smooth motion. He quickly grabbed her by the waist, dipped her nearly to the floor, and pressed his lips to hers.

He brought her back up to the applause of their audience. She stared at him seductively for a few seconds, before slumping into his arms, unconscious. “Ah, man. I went too big on it.” Jeremy chided himself, clicking his tounge. “She's all right! Carry on with celebrations!” He waved at everyone as her carried his bride off the stage, followed closely by the bridesmaids and groomsmen, leaving Heinz standing all alone on the stage.

“Well, you may now kiss the bride!” Heinz sarcastically yelled after them. Crossing his arms, his voice became a mutter. “That's what happens when you don't wait.”

* * *

Ignoring Jeremy's warning, Phineas and Ferb, shadowed by Isabella, quickly ended up backstage while the rest of the wedding party socialized in the lobby. Jeremy waved at the boys as they came in. Candace was already awake, though she was a bit woozy. “Hey, new in-laws! As I said, she's alright. We'll be ready to head to the reception in a few.”

Candace had a strange mixture of emotions. On one hand, she had finally married the love of her life, but on the other hand, she had made a huge fool of herself doing it.

“That was so romantic!” Isabella hugged Candace tightly. Candace coughed slightly, causing the younger girl to quickly back off. “But seriously, that was the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my entire life!” She squealed with joy as she instinctually threw herself on Candace in another hug.

“Phineas, can you get your girl off me?” Candace sputtered. Phineas grabbed Isabella's hand and lightly pulled her away from Candace. Isabella, still in a huggy mood, threw herself onto Phineas instead. He blushed slightly as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Sorry, Candace. She was right, though. This is probably going down as the most memorable wedding in our families history, for better or worse.”

“Better!” Isabella insisted as she separated herself from Phineas, but only a bit.

Candace laughed, triggering a chain reaction amongst the occupants of the room, except for Ferb. He was laughing on the inside. Candace stood on her own two feet, playfully shoving her husband away. “Thanks, Isabella. And you guys really pulled it together, even if I could criticize your choice of minister.”

“Choice isn't the word I would use.” Ferb intoned. It was at this moment that Vanessa Doofenshmirtz burst into the room. Baljeet stumbled in after her.

“Ferb! Phineas! I was looking for you!” She practically tripped over herself. “Did you guys see what was outside?” She pointed out the door.

“Outside?” Phineas inquired, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

“It looks like some kind of... Explosive!” Baljeet fumbled. “Right outside!”

A wave of terror washed over the room.

* * *

“Okay, so for sure it's not gonna rip us to shreds.” Flint grinned.

“Fire at will, first mate!” Suzanne stood up and preformed a mock salute from atop the couch.

He pushed the big red button. “It would be my pleasure.”

Perry the Platypus burst through the door-

And the world went white.

Phineas and Ferb's Stranger Summer had only really just begun.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter down! I have decided to just call this the end of Part 1. Part 2 will be going up on the same schedule, hopefully, and will be a lot looser in the plot structure adhering to the AB plot of the show.**

**Next Time:**

**Stranger Summer Part 2 - Phineas and Ferb's Dimensional Disaster**

**Higher Stakes! Higher Pressure! The universe as they know it has been shaken to it's core!**


	11. A Stranger Place

**A/N: Part 2 has begun! I've already mapped out a lot of story concepts so wherever this thing goes, at the very least I'm sure how this part will end. I hope you guys have as much fun reading as I do writing. We'll definitely be getting a bit fluffier with the mushy stuff, too. I have also called the audible of no longer keeping a tight schedule and am instead set on releasing these chapters as soon as they are done and sufficiently edited. I've also started crossposting on AO3.**

**JetZFlare: The fic takes place about 4 years after the first summer, assuming the oldest of the kids (Buford and Ferb) are 12, and the youngest (Phineas, Isabella and Baljeet) were 11. AYA screws with that timeline to be sure, but the primary implication I wanted to avoid was a massive age gap between Ferb and Vanessa. Suzy is about 10 now, and her crush on Buford was literally a “because it would be funny” moment. After all, isn't Suzy in the main series just a tiny bully? As for the Milo progress, you are good to go. I wouldn't even consider what I say concerning Milo here to be a spoiler of anything but what everyone knows: He's unlucky and he knows Dr. D.**

**Also, the second part isn't a separate fic :) it's just gonna stay in here so the whole story can be enjoyed by newcomers.**

* * *

**Part 2: Phineas and Ferb's Dimensional Disaster**

**Chapter 11: A Stranger Place**

* * *

“Is everyone alright?!?” Phineas sat up from the floor with a startle. He slowly rubbed his head as he regained his senses. “Oh, man. That was some wild dream.” He turned to face Perry, who was sitting squarely on his chest. “Candace got married, but Vanessa's dad was the officiant, and she fainted, and then...” He looked around at the others in the room, who were starting to come to. He felt the rough red carpet beneath him. His eyes widened as his speech slowed. “... we fainted.” Suddenly, his head started to ache. A ripple effect passed through his mind, but it wasn't as bad as the one he had when he remembered Milo. Perry chattered at his owner. Phineas gawked in surprise. “Y- you're a secret agent! And we got our minds wiped! To protect you!”

Perry's shock was visible as he reeled back onto his hind legs. He glanced around the room, eyeing everyone else, who, to no one's surprise, were all laser-focused on him. He shrugged, unsure of what could be done in this situation. There was an exception. Lying next to Phineas, Isabella was practically beet-red-blushing. Phineas turned to her and chuckled. “And you totally kissed me!” He leaned in close and whispered. “And for the record, I liked it.”

A few scattered giggles from around the room were quickly replaced by an awkward silence. Ferb pulled Vanessa to her feet. Isabella, still flustered, waved Phineas away for a moment, and got up on her own. Phineas shrugged. Candace and Jeremy quietly observed from their corner of the room with the groomsmen and bridesmaids. Stacy slapped her hands to her cheeks in mock-horror. “Oh, no! Perry the Platypus is actually a secret agent! Who could have possibly known?”

“D-did you... know?” Jeremy trailed off. Stacy pretended not to hear him as she quickly sped out the room. Hands spread to the sky to indicate her incredible surprise.

“We'vegottacheckoneveryoneelseokaybye!”

Perry reached out after Stacy, as if hoping she had some kind of solution to his situation. He began to sweat milk rapidly, that is, until Phineas and Ferb gave him hearty pats on the back. “Don't worry, pal! I'm not mad! We already went through that whole thing!” Phineas stretched out his hands. Isabella grinned. Ferb gave him a thumbs-up. Phineas grabbed the platypus' now-slick body and wrapped him up in a hug, stroking his back tenderly. Perry, now that his cover was blown, was finally able to hug back. The others funneled out of the room, shooed out by Candace and Jeremy. The moment passed. Phineas set Perry on the ground as Perry grimly cast his gaze downward.

“And you know what? As a matter of fact, I don't think we should let 'them' whoever 'they' are, take you!” Phineas smiled. Perry's face didn't lose it's dour look. He instead took out his watch, clicked the communications button and...

Nothing.

“Huh? Was that supposed to be that military guy?” Phineas peeked around at the watch.

“Major Monogram.” Isabella corrected.

“Ah, so she can speak.” Ferb noted. Isabella glared at him as Phineas chuckled.

“That is strange, though,” Phineas took a closer look at the watch, much to Perry's chagrin. “There's a network tower not too far from here, and the explosion...”

His eyes cast across the room. He took stock of everything, but it was exactly the same as it was before, save for a pool of water that had formed because a sink had been left on.

“... Didn't... explode... anything.”

“Alright, I'm getting a really weird vibe here.” Ferb noticed his surroundings just as his brother had. Isabella looked around, taking a bit to connect the dots, but the conclusion was the same.

“What kind of bomb doesn't damage anything?”

“What kind of bomb makes us remember erased memories?”

“What kind of bomb seems specifically engineered to embarrass Isabella?”

“Ferb! I liked you better when you shut up!”

“I'm sorry, it's just a lot to think about.”

Buford and Baljeet could be heard screaming down the corridor. The noise quickly got closer as they rounded the entrance to the back room. Buford shook Phineas and Ferb rapidly. “Guys! Guys! You have got to see what's going on out there!”

“What's going on out there?” Phineas shoved Buford's hand off of his shoulder.

“I can't describe it! That's why you've got to see it!”

Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella were shoved along at mach speed by the two, frantically pushing their way through the crowded lobby, where everyone was in abject panic.

“Now they've got me worried.” Phineas shrugged as he grabbed the collar of his shirt. With a final shove, the three tumbled through the doors to the outside-

* * *

They didn't blame Buford for calling it “indescribable”. The sky was a swirling mass of paint-stroke colors, like a classical painting. The moon in the sky had a dimmer light, and a fluid quality to the surface. It rippled in the air, feeling significantly closer than before. The feeling you get when you stare up at the stars and all you can imagine was how far out they were? The feeling was missing in a dreadful way. The purple and blue hues created an almost textured appearance, and the stars were like small paint blotches.

“Is that a skybox? Like a giant dome over Danville?” Isabella clutched Phineas fearfully. Phineas scratched the back of his neck.

“I-I suppose tit could be. It just seems so...” He reached out as if to touch the moon. “... real. It's kind of beautiful.” He scratched his chin.

“It's kind of terrifying.” Isabella's voice chilled.

The three pondered the nature of their new atmosphere for a while before a new development. North of the moon, a small green flash... flashed. What appeared to be a small rock soared through the sky before landing about 20 feet from the trio with a large crash. Isabella shoved the brothers to the ground and shielded them before they all collectively realized they weren't dead yet.

Phineas poked his head out from under Isabella and raised an eyebrow. “That was no ordinary meteorite. I think what we just saw was a portal.”

Ferb threw Isabella off of him, putting her almost entirely on Phineas, who waited for her to get up off of him patiently. She dusted herself off and blushed furiously. Phineas snickered. “That was noble of you.”

Ferb motioned the two over as he inspected the meteorite. It was dimly glowing multiple colors in a cycle. He circled his finger around the texture of the rock.

“You're right, Ferb. That's not an element I've seen before, either.” Phineas knelt down to inspect it. “That's definitely organic, though. No noise from a power source or anything. Naturally occurring light shows... Neat.” He and Isabella looked back up at where the flash had appeared.

“As soon as we make sure everyone's safe in there, we need to get up there.” Isabella crossed her arms.

* * *

Joseph Garcia-Shapiro and the Fireside Girls were doing a bang-up job of making sure everyone was safe in there. The initial panic of the bizarre new atmosphere combined with the nervous confusion of the fainting bride had made for a chaotic social stew. Cursing his rotten luck, he stood up on top of a chair and looked over the chattering crowd sternly. The Flynn-Fletcher's pet platypus was also present, for some reason, and the Fireside Girls were eyeballing him.

“QUIET!”

Addyson's shout was so loud, so abrupt, so sharp, and so authoritative that the entire room had no choice but to face her. Joseph let out a huff. He was gonna be the guy that shouted 'QUIET!'. Addyson motioned towards the chair, as if to indicate Mr. Garcia-Shapiro, who quickly tightened his tie and prepared to speak...

“Everybody just calm down! Phineas and Ferb probably know what's going on.” She assured the room. The kids seemed satisfied with her assertion, but the adults in the room were mostly confused. Mr. Garcia-Shapiro could be more accurately described as 'frustrated'.

Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella happened to saunter through the door seconds after. All eyes were on them as they looked around the room, growing aware of the increased attention that was on them. Phineas held up the small meteor in his hand. “This fell outta the sky!”

“Leapin' Lizards, boy! Get that thing away from us!” Joe recoiled in his chair, tipping it over and falling over. He scrambled to his feet, grabbed the meteor out of the surprised boy's hand, and promptly threw it out the window at fastball velocity. The glass shattered and made a mess on the floor.

A few more seconds of awkward silence washed over the crowd as Phineas grasped at the rock that was no longer there. “It was just a weird rock, Mr. Garcia-Shapiro.” He raised his hands to the crowd. “Now, it's my assessment that everyone is apparently waiting for us to make a statement on recent events?”

The crowd murmured amongst themselves before they all nodded in the trio's general direction.

“Why exactly?” Linda whispered in the back.

“Well, frankly...” Phineas started. He pointed up at the wispy moon. “The sky's looking different, something from another dimension crossed over through a portal in that sky, we now remember that Perry is a secret agent, and we can't make heads or tails of what else changed.”

Ferb nudged his brother and motioned to his phone. “Springing Salamanders!” Phineas exclaimed. He took a closer look at the phone, fiddling with it a bit. Isabella leaned in and gasped in shock.

“Airborne Aligators!” Isabella exclaimed, taking the invisible award for 'strangest exclamation'. “Uh... the GPS says we're not on earth.” She gave Phineas a concerned look.

“And the internet isn't connecting to any servers, in spite of the Tri-State network being alright.”

The three whispered amongst themselves as the onlookers resumed panicking, albeit in a polite, quiet fashion.

“Wait a second, why are Phineas and Ferb the authority on crazy happenings?” Linda asked Addyson.

“Well, we've seen more crazy happenings than anyone else. They went to space, they fought those robots, they escaped the ripped fabric of time...”

Addyson was listing off achievement after achievement. Linda began to hyperventilate. This was certainly no time to be using the kids' absurdly overactive imaginations, unless...

She believed that it happened.

Linda stiffly walked over to the boys and leaned down to check on them. Ferb looked up at her and tapped Phineas' shoulder. Phineas quickly joined his brother. “What's up, mom?”

“Why aren't you panicking?”

“Well, gee, I didn't think that would help. We were actually just going to go for a drive to see if anything unusual is happening around town.”

“This is ALREADY unusual, Phineas! It's probably not safe out there! Whatever's happening!”

“It's not really that 'unusual' by our metrics, so we figured we could probably handle it together.” Phineas matter-of-fact mannerisms and his earnest grin only further exasperated his mother.

“You mean this is the kind of- Candace is- it's- you-”

“Are you alright, Mom?” Phineas accepted a cup of water from Ferb, and gave it to his mother. “We'll be fine! Doesn't Candace tell you that we do this kind of thing regularly?” Linda couldn't force anymore sentences out of her mouth. She just stood there, mouth agape. Phineas and Ferb motioned to Buford and Baljeet, who quickly joined the trio as they hopped into Ferb's car. Phineas pointed playful little finger guns at his mom. “Perry will get you home safe! We'll be back in time for dinner!” The quintet (it's a word) sped off, leaving Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher in the dust.

“B-B-B-B-But...” She stammered. “Perry?” Perry, on his hind legs, simply shrugged.

* * *

“I'm telling you, Vanessa! This is nothing that I've seen before! And I've seen... a good many... things!” Heinz was on the roof of the church, ranting and raving to his daughter, who, though accompanying him, was barely paying attention. She watched as Ferb and the gang sped off. She sighed discontentedly. Suddenly, her dad was squatted next to her, motioning out to the stars. “What I think we just saw was a miniature portal storm!”

She rolled her eyes. She had no clue what a 'portal storm' was, and she had no intention of finding out. Of course, her father was not about to let a teaching moment go to waste.

“You see, Vanessa, a portal storm is a theoretical event in which objects from random places are thrown about through portals, mimicking a storm. Hence the name.”

“Random... portals?” She suddenly became deep in thought. She turned her face to Heinz'. “Dad, wasn't that thing you made with that kid... meant to make portals?”

Heinz scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, but I don't see why that's releva-” He stopped suddenly. “You think the kid did this?”

“Well, he did say something about 'remaking the universe' and 'killing us' so I think it's safe to assume Flint's got a hand in it.” Vanessa shrugged.

“The nerve of that guy! I gave him a whole dramatic speech and everything just yesterday!” Doofenshmirtz exclaimed. He ducked under another rock that fell from the sky. “That makes three.”

“To be fair, Dad, you are an awful public speaker.”

“What? I'm charming! And charismatic!”

“I'm almost grateful this whole thing distracted everyone from how embarrassing your little speech was at the ceremony!”

“I was being brutally honest, Vanessa.” Heinz inspected the rock. Glowy. He made a mental note of it. “You know what they say: If you don't have anything candid to say, say something else.”

“Nobody says that!” Vanessa crossed her arms. A small vibration came from her pocket. She whipped out her phone and gasped slightly. “Oh, my gosh! Roger!”

“What, did one of these rocks hit him?” Doofenshmirtz hopefully smirked.

“No, he needs all hands on deck! There's panic in the streets!”

“Yeah, it's right over there.” Heinz pointed in the direction of the Googolplex Mall, which had a few small fires lit at the entrance and a crowd of chanting people. “Oh, and there!” He pointed at City Hall, which was under siege from an equally angry but probably smarter group. “Our ride is gone, so we'll have to take the giant head.”

* * *

Flint was rapidly pacing around the still unoccupied DEI, practically tearing his hair out in frustration. He stopped, took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and promptly began to panic again. This had been going on for the last 30 minutes. Suzanne watched from the couch while she assessed their new situation.

“Hey, Phin. I know you're having a thing over there but do you mind explaining to me what you're having a thing over?” She stared at him from across the room. He met her gaze briefly and snapped his fingers as if trying to summon confidence.

“I- uh-” He sounded like he was choking with a dry mouth. “It's- You know? I might have kinda- destroyed a dimension.”

“Again?”

“A-a-a-gai...” He couldn't even get the words out as he collapsed. Suzanne hopped over the couch, grabbed a bottle of water, and poured it on his face. She slapped him back into his senses and he rubbed his cheeks. “Thank you for that.”

“Any time.” She stood up and clasped her hands together before making a pointed, matter-of-fact gesture. “So here's why that logic doesn't track.”

“It doesn't?”

“Yeah. We're not dead yet. Or floating in the dimensional void. When you blew up 164, Gretch and I were close enough that we got sucked into the dimensional matrix with you. It's just that we followed you by manually navigating the matrix, and while it wasn't long for us, it took weeks over there.”

She motioned at the sky. “See that? It's NOT the dimensional matrix. So no, you haven't doomed us all. In fact, this is an opportunity.”

“I-it is!” Flint caught on to his partner's logic. He dug around in the junk drawer until he produced a telescope. “If it's not the matrix, like you say, it is.” Flint was quick to remind Suzanne that he had never seen the matrix. The dimensional matrix was a theoretical realm Flint envisioned that contained a 3D graph matrix of all accessible realities. This meant that on top of going in a circle, there were separate lines along those circle points that contained their own circles of reality. It could be summed up as moving across the Y axis of dimensions, which is why it was called a matrix.

“The dimensional matrix isn't nearly this pretty, either.” Suzanne sat on the ledge of the building as she looked out at the painted hues above her. Flint brought up his telescope and looked out at the horizon. He turned to his partner with a fiery grin.

“Just as I thought.”

“You mean, I thought?”

* * *

“An EDGE!” Baljeet's horror overtook him as he looked over the boundary between Danville and a bottomless void. “Danville has an EDGE!”

“The Tri-State Area has an edge.” Buford corrected. He spat a chunk of saliva down towards the dark hole. It seemed to be pulled to an area underneath the city rather than directly down. “Gravity's even a bit screwy.”

“I'm with Baljeet on this one.” Isabella said from the car. “That's definitely freaky.”

Buford shrugged. “Usually my first thought when I see a ledge is how my spit's gonna react to it. Now that that's done...” He shrieked in horror and pointed down at the pitch-blackness. “HOLY COW! THE EDGE OF THE WORLD!”

Ferb searched his pockets, but sighed as he was unable to find a measuring tape that reached far enough to see how far down the hole went. Phineas threw a pebble. “When we hear this thing hit the ground, we'll know how deep the pit is.”

The five teenagers waited in absolute silence for a minute.

“O-or not.” Phineas nervously admitted. “Obviously this place that Danville-”

“The Tri-State Area.”

“- Same difference, Buford. Obviously this place that Danville's in isn't governed by the laws of physics as we know them.”

“Fascinating, professor.” Ferb quipped.

“Yeah, that much is obvious. I don't know whether to be scared, excited, terrified, thrilled, optimistic, pessimistic, or any other number of descriptors! There's so much to do now- it's crazy!”

“First,” Isabella got up out of her seat and stood up. “We ought to set up barriers around town to make sure no moron goes careening off the edge of the world.” She jumped off the seat and promptly began to pile some rocks by the ledge. Ferb tried not to be bothered, but it was the original manufacturer's leather.

“Alright. Isabella, let's round up the Fireside Girls and get started. Ferb and I are gonna go to the Mayor's office, to offer aid.”

“And what are we supposed to do?” Buford asked.

Phineas shrugged. “Stick with Isabella. If there's anything unexpected or dangerous, take care of it.” He beamed. “Hop in, guys! We'll drop you at the First Baptist!”

Isabella frowned slightly, but nonetheless sat in the back between Buford and Baljeet.

* * *

Vanessa and Heinz arrived at City Hall just as the panicked crowd was reaching pitchfork-and-torch levels of riotousness. The giant head they came in on created a part in the crowd as people really didn't know what to make of it and felt the need to get away from it. It landed slowly, right at the base of the city.

“Hey, wait a second, weren't that kid and that girl up at the penthouse? How come there was no one there when we got the head?”

* * *

Flint and Suzanne hastily threw a tarp over their machinery and dove behind the couch as they heard the doorknob rattle. Pinning themselves to the ground, they tensely listened for any sign that they were found out.

“Well, here we are in Doofenshmirtz Engineering Incorporated penthouse suite!”

The two heard machinery rattle and creak.

“And here's the giant flying head on which we will fly to City Hall!”

“Okay, Dad, but why announce it?”

“Good point.”

They heard the clatter of feet and an engine roaring to life. The head shot off the balcony in the direction of City Hall.

“Are they gone?” Flint asked.

“No, genius, their ship took off without them.” Suzanne hotly glared at him as she thunked him on the forehead.

“Alright, alright. Jeez.” Flint rubbed his wound tenderly.

* * *

“Well, we didn't see anyone there in the 10 seconds that we were there, so what reason do we have to suspect that they were?” Heinz asked. “I know if I destroyed the fabric of space I would try to get outta dodge.”

Vanessa shrugged and refocused her attention on shoving her way into City Hall, her father in tow. She tumbled through the front door, where the few on-duty cops were trying their best to hold the crowd at bay. The secretary on duty was cowering behind her desk as Vanessa slammed her hands on the counter. “Where's Uncle Roger?” The frightened woman pointed a shaky finger in the direction of his office. Heinz stumbled in clumsily after, hot on her trail.

Vanessa raced up the stairs to the mayor's office and tried the door. It was locked. She fiddled with the handle a bit before beating on the frame rapidly. “It's Vanessa! Roger, let me in!”

There was silence on the other end of the door for a few seconds. A nervous, twitching turn later, the door creaked open slowly. Roger peeked in from the gap. “Vanessa? Oh, thank goodness you're here!” He let them in, only after the fact noticing Heinz was following her closely. “Heinz.” He barely acknowledged his brother as he slipped through the door quickly. The three stood in silence for a moment. “So... did you guys bring me a solution to my problem..?”

Vanessa rubbed the back of her head. “I realize we didn't actually think this far ahead.” She looked over at her father. “You got any ideas, Dad?”

Heinz shrugged. “In all honesty, the idea of your own constituents being the ones to burn down City Hall and oust you from power is an appealing irony.” He remembered that he was supposed to be a good guy now, and joined his daughter in back-or-head rubbing. “So I also didn't think of anything.”

It was at this moment that another set of people managed to burst into City Hall. They clambered up to the mayor's office and set themselves in front of the mayor's desk.

“Mayor Doofenshmirtz! I'm sure you have a lot of questions about what's going on right now!” Phineas saluted the mayor. Ferb put Phineas' hand down. You don't salute the mayor.

“Yes. Yes I do.” Roger feebly put his head down on his desk, resting his hands on his scalp. “This is the angriest I've ever seen Danville! They demand action, but I haven't a clue what's going on!”

“That's just the thing, sir. It's simple.” Phineas made a large sweeping motion out towards the sky. “Danville has somehow been relocated into a void between dimensions.”

“That doesn't sound simple at all.” Vanessa intoned.

“He means Danville isn't connected to the rest of the planet, somehow. We can't leave, we can't get help, and the world now has an edge.” Ferb responded.

“See, that makes a little more sense,” Vanessa huffed, “But why are we all still alive? Why do we still have oxygen?”

“Or an atmosphere, for that matter? Gravity? Electricity? Running water?” Heinz lumped a further few questions on the boys.

“We... don't know, yet. We're actually trying to find the guy that caused all this, because he might. I can tell you that Danville's local power grid will stay up for as long as the dam is running, which will keep running until all the water falls of the edge of the world, which is a very frightening prospect.” Phineas paced back and forth in front of the desk.

“So we have time?” Roger squeaked, nervously.

“Quite the opposite, Mr. Mayor. We have a lot of work to do, and we're going to need parts for the machines, which will require... funding.” Phineas finished, tactfully.

“I'm afraid I can't just relocate city funds for this. After all, what about the mid-summer fair, and the meatloaf cookoff, and the Mexican-Jewish cultural festival?”

Everyone stared at him blankly until they realized he wasn't joking. Phineas took a deep breath inward, and composed himself. “Roger- Can I call you Roger?”

Roger didn't have time to respond. Phineas snapped a finger as he regained his focus.

“What you have on your hands is a city in chaos, in dire need of some brilliantly engineered technology. Ferb and I can handle that, and we'll handle it at no cost to you... except for the materials required. This is higher priority than a fair, a cookoff, or a... festival.”

Phineas slammed his hands onto Roger's desk violently. Roger leaped back in his seat. “It's just- the budget is the budget. Take a collection from the crowd if you need to! The city needs it's funds!”

“T-that's ridiculous! We need parts NOW, Roger. Get over your idea of what government was two hours ago! We have to take an initiative before the people out there start behaving like animals!”

“A-alright, boys. I'll call a meeting for as soon as possible with the city council, we should be getting this ball rolling in a day or two.” Roger recomposed himself and pulled out a phone book, handing it to Vanessa. “Vanessa, can you be a dear and take down the names and numbers of the city council members? No pressure, it's just that we could all die in a violent coup.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. Phineas angrily stormed out of the room, muttering something about bureaucracy. “You look at that and tell me you wanna be President,” He whispered at his brother. “Sheesh!” Ferb had no response. Government was, for the time being, not the savior of Danville. Phineas perked up slightly. “We could try to take a collection, though! Think about it! An appeal to the basic good in human nature!”

* * *

The Flynn-Fletcher family rode home in silence. Perry sat in the back, buckled up beside a shaken Candace. Linda stared at him awkwardly through the rear-view mirror. Lawrence exhaled a large breath and cleared his throat.

“So, uh, Perry. How long have you been a secret agent?”

Perry chattered.

“Oh, I suppose you can't speak, so we would have to ask... yes or no questions.”

Perry nodded 'yes'.

Candace piped up in the back. “First off, Perry couldn't tell you he was an agent because we're his cover, BUT-” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “-He does care about our family dearly. Actually saved a whole alternate dimension with the boys' help.”

Linda muttered something under her breath. Candace, once again, was shocked at how unsatisfying this whole thing had been for her.

Perry affectionately chattered at Candace as he put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. It was really weird, because his hand felt a bit wet, and his smile was a bit inhuman. Nonetheless, it served as a comforting guesture.

* * *

Meanwhile the appeal to human nature wasn't working. Human nature was, at the moment, panic, broken glass, car alarms, and fire. Phineas looked down at the crowd, dismayed. He hadn't even been able to get their attention with the megaphone. Suddenly, Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet met him on the stairs.

“Isabella! Buford! Baljeet! Boy, you sure are a sight for sore eyes!”

“Phineas, it has been, like, 45 minutes.” Baljeet managed to gasp out. His leg still wasn't perfect, so he was tired.

“He was saying he missed us!” Isabella shot at Baljeet. Buford rolled his eyes.

“Barriers are set up all around the city, Dinnerbell. The ladies are finishing up the last of it. How'd it go with Mayor Doofenshmirtz?” Buford asked.

“We're voting him out next term if we can swing it.” Ferb answered. The gang looked down dejectedly.

“If only Danville had a leader that was any good at, you know, leading.” Isabella glared up at the window in the mayor's office.

“Like you, perhaps.” Phineas rubbed his chin. “But you aren't old enough to be elected.”

“Yeah, yeah. Chapter 4. One of my favorites.” Buford cut him off. “So how are we gonna build... whatever it is we're gonna build?”

“The first idea was a way to keep the water from falling off the edge, but it's gonna have to wait. We'll just have to fill it up from bottled water once we get it up and rolling.” Phineas was still thinking through his potential options. “Today was supposed to be perfect, and it was, to a point...” He made a strangling motion with his hands.

“Aw, that's too bad, Phineas.” Buford sarcastically chided. “Should we change your diaper and make you dinner, too? Should we put you to bed? Tuck you in really tight? Like the burrito fold?” Isabella elbowed him violently, but he shrugged it off with a glare.

Phineas understood that what Buford meant was 'Man up and get it together,' but still, the idea of a burrito-fold-tuck sounded really good right now. “I guess we could draw up detailed plans tonight, Ferb.” Ferb gave him a thumbs up and produced a clipboard and pencil, scribbling rapidly. Phineas' eye twitched slightly.

As the gang started to head to their homes, Buford and Baljeet split off from the other three as they went in the direction of their own houses. Baljeet rubbed the back of his head. “So, today was... eventful.”

“If you're wanting to talk feely crud, nerd, stow it.”

“No! Not at all! It is just... strange that we are heading turning in having not solved the problem.”

“You're right, Jeet.”

“And...”

“And..?”

“Maybe, I figured, if we are in such a unique situation, with so much stress and duty placed upon us, maybe we could adjust the workout schedule?”

Buford laughed heartily and slapped his friend on the back. “Oh, no way, dude. I'm not letting you off the hook just because we're in a horrifying worst-case scenario. 8:30AM tomorrow.”

“Ah, okay...” Baljeet muttered.

Buford waved goodbye as Baljeet approached his own front door with a knock. His parents welcomed him in quickly, and he waved to Buford just as they slammed the door shut.

“Jeez, he wants that Ginger girl's attention, but he doesn't want to put the work in. What am I gonna do with that kid?” Buford asked no one in particular as he walked off into the night, towards the safety of his own home.

* * *

Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella were tired and battered from their day out. Phineas couldn't help but glance up at the sky and wonder about the nature of their new circumstances. “It's like a dream. This whole scenario is so... Bizarre.” His observations served as a nice distraction from Isabella's hand in his. His nerves were going crazy in two entirely different ways.

“Nightmare is more like it,” Ferb suggested. “We're going to have to get this fixed as soon as possible.”

“And I'll bet Perry will be a good asset in our hunt for the fugitives.” Phineas rubbed his hands together. “So we should have this, uh, in the bag, so to speak.” There was a slight shake to his mannerisms, and both of his companions noted it.

The three approached the Flynn-Fletcher's front door and Ferb let out an exaggerated yawn. Slumping his shoulders, he waved the two of them off, sluggishly opening the door and slipping into the living room.

Phineas faced Isabella and gulped. He had a good time. She had a good time. They were now aware of how the other felt. So why was it so hard for him to speak? “I-Isabella. It was, uh, most of the day was fun.”

Isabella giggled nervously. “It's alright, Phineas. You'll figure this whole thing out. There's no need to worry.”

_But I am worried._ Phineas' mouth dried up a smidge. “I'd better get you back home. Your parents are probably worried sick.”

Isabella raised a hand to her mouth as she let out a small gasp. “Right! Omigosh!” The two walked across the street to the Garcia-Shapiro's front door. Phineas rapped on the door, hearing shuffling behind the door.

“Isa!” Vivian opened the door quickly. She smiled at Phineas. “Thank you for getting her home, Phineas. And... I guess the fact that you're actually some kind of genius is fortuitous considering the situation. It seems we're going to be counting on you!”

_They're all counting on me._

_They're all counting on ME._

_THEY'RE ALL COUNTING-_

Phineas' thoughts were interrupted by a quick peck on the cheek from Isabella, and they didn't start up again for some time. Isabella smirked at him. “Now the shoe's on the other foot, I guess. G'night, Phin.” She waited a moment. Phineas sheepishly rubbed his neck. She shut the door, sinking to the floor against it. She could barely suppress the heat in her cheeks. Isabella exhaled a breath in satisfaction. 

Outside, Phineas blinked.  _I guess it's not all that bad._ He hopped off the front porch and walked in the direction of his own. As soon as he cleared the awning above him, he felt a drop of water on his head. He looked down at his wet sneakers. A puddle.

Phineas held out his hands and gazed up at the sky, which was becoming a swirling mass of flowing, painted whirlpools. “Wow. And the water issue isn't gonna be too bad, either.” Suddenly, a metal rod landed next to his feet, slamming ground and splashing water up at Phineas. Fear shook through his body as he took a closer look.

The sky was spitting out THINGS.

All sorts of things. From what he could identify, they were mostly rocks, plants, and metal chunks, but he could also see the odd machine, like a fridge or a classic car. Realizing that he was in mortal danger, he sprinted to his front door as fast as possible. _I guess it is all that bad after all._

“PANIC ROOM!” He yelled. Lights turned on around the house. A sleepy Lawrence stumbled out of the bedroom. Perry was already up, having been on the communicator with Francis Monogram before bed. He seemed worried about the consequences of blowing his cover.

“Ah, Phineas! You and Ferb got home safe?” Lawrence rubbed his eyes as Phineas clasped his shoulders.

“None of us are safe! It's raining... STUFF! Metal! Dirt!” Phineas shook his dad awake. “Get Mom! Get Candace! Get Ferb! PANIC ROOM!”

The stuff made impact with the roof of the house. The hard patter sounded almost like the impact of bullets. Phineas looked out across the street.

Lawrence put his hand on Phineas' shoulder. “Woah, son. I think I know what you're thinking.” Perry chattered, echoing Lawrence's concerns.

“Then you know you aren't gonna stop me.” Phineas' left eye twitched suddenly. He took a deep breath in and sprinted across the street in the pouring rain, narrowly dodging a canoe that had fallen from the sky. Tumbling across Isabella's front yard, he jumped into the air and drop-kicked the front door.

The door bust open explosively. Phineas got up off the ground, scrambling to his feet. Isabella and Vivian reeled back in fear at his sudden appearance. “I know I look like a maniac right now, but that sound you're hearing outside is stuff falling from the sky! Your house isn't safe!”

Joseph fell down the stairs, crashing through the railing. “Phineas!” He rubbed his head as he slowly got back on his feet. “What is the meaning of this?”

“No time! Get to your...” Phineas speech slowed. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “You guys have a basement, right?”

“Yes. Yes we do.” Isabella's mother clung tightly to her as she tried to speak. “Couldn't you have called instead of smashing through our door?”

As if to answer, an unknown object made a thunderous sound as it made impact with the roof. Everyone's eyes widened as they heard wood displaced, falling all over the attic. Joseph quickly ran to the basement, opening the metal blast doors. “I guess it does pay to be paranoid.”

“The blast door certainly cost enough.” Isabella muttered.

Phineas tugged Vivian, who appeared paralyzed, off of the couch. Isabella quickly came to his aid as the two picked her up and hurried off to the basement. Joseph motioned them in and followed, shutting the door behind them. The lights cut out, and Phineas lit up his cell phone to see in the dark. They were in the room formerly belonging to Flint. The staircase was very deep, so they ended up some way beneath the ground.

“We have about, eh, 6 feet of foundation between us and the storm.” Joseph assured everyone. “And most of this stuff isn't huge, right? This should be more than enough.”

“Let's hope so.” Phineas' eyes darted around the room as he rustled through his other self's belongings. “Looks like Flint left some of his old things here.” Phineas touched a small orb he found in a backpack, and it began to glow, illuminating the room.

Isabella set her mother down and took stock of the closet. “Looks like we have a sleeping bag. Mom, Dad, do you think you could fit on the guest bed?”

“I suppose.” Joseph glanced up at the stairwell on and off.

Phineas unfurled the sleeping bag and set it on the floor. “You take this one, Isabella.”

Isabella grinned at him and leaned forward cutely. “You know, it looks like there are only two spots to sleep here tonight.”

Phineas was already sweating from exertion, but he gulped all the same. “Floor. I'll do floor.”

“Good answer.” Joe glared at his daughter. She let out a little chuckle and got a pillow out of the closet. 

“C'mon, I was just kidding.” Isabella handed Phineas the pillow. “You take the pillow, then.”

Phineas laughed. “Well, gee, if I'm stuck here...” He rubbed the back of his head. “I really didn't think this through.”

“I don't see how you two can banter when the atomic bomb is going off outside. We have no idea how long this thing's gonna last. We could all just-” Joseph glanced over at his shaken wife, who was curled up in the bed. “-die.” He whispered, angrily. Isabella glared at him, as it was no where near quiet enough that Vivian didn't hear.

The odd quartet tried their best to sleep with the intense noise above their heads. Phineas set his pillow next to Isabella's head so he could attempt to share it, an idea she did not object to. Isabella had the best time of it, and Phineas was drifting off to sleep, but the adults in the bed were ironically having the least comfortable time.

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz was in awe of the storm, having placed himself on the City Hall balcony. His long-suffering daughter was stared at him with some worry as he cackled in the rain.

“This is brilliant!” He glanced back into the mayor's office, where Roger was cowering and Vanessa was glaring at him with a frown. “I- I don't mean the destruction, it's just- look! The sheer insanity of it! It's like a rainstorm, I've just gotta be out here for it!”

Green portals flashed in the sky as they deposited debris all over the Tri-State Area. Heinz jumped back as a toilet suddenly landed by his foot. “On second thought, maybe inside is good.”

He slipped back into the mayor's office, where Vanessa had only just begun tracking down numbers of the city council and the contractors necessary to get a reservoir solution in place. He sighed heavily, grabbed another phonebook, and leaned up against the wall. “This is a pretty tough roof, so we should be good for a while. Vanessa, I'm going to start at the names with N, alright?” He got out a small notebook and began to take down some numbers himself, cross-referencing it with several parts dealerships. It wasn't long before they were done.

* * *

It was about 20 minutes before the pattering stopped. Phineas opened one eye. He got up and looked over at Isabella, who was, surprisingly, sound asleep. The two of them smelled like garbage after the hard day they had just endured, but having her close was oddly comforting to him. He looked over at her parents. Mr. Garcia-Shapiro was already sitting up in bed, having also caught on.

“Welp, Phineas, thanks for your help and all, but now that it looks like you won't die out there...” He started.

Phineas raised his hands to stop him and walked up the stairs, stopping to move his pillow under Isabella's head. “Say no more, Mr. Garcia-Shapiro. I need to make sure the others are alright, anyways.”

He tried to open the basement doors, but they wouldn't budge. He pushed with all of his strength, and they simply would not open. He tiptoed back down the stairs, earning a glare from Joseph.

“Bad news. I'm shut in.” Phineas shrugged. He looked down at Isabella and realized that he had given her full ownership of the only pillow he had. The two men huffed in frustration, and Phineas awkwardly positioned himself on the floor, putting his hands over his stomach.

A blanket suddenly fell over his upper body. He sat up and glanced over at Joseph. Joseph shrugged as he pulled the sheet over him and his wife. “Considering circumstances, you did good today, kid. Better than I ever expected. You earned it.”

Phineas nodded and folded the comforter over itself to form a pillow and wrapped himself in the rest of it.

Burrito-style.

* * *

Flint and Suzanne had no idea what was going on outside. They had found themselves a nice new hiding spot, and it was far, far underground. It wasn't much, but they had new equipment they had procured during the riots as well as nice, soft air mattresses. Suzanne insisted they acquire two mattresses, much to her boyfriend's chagrin. He sighed contentedly as he looked over at his roommate.

“Knock it out of the park tomorrow, bud. You'll get us home.” He whispered to himself. Suzanne stifled a laugh. “Oh, you were still awake?”

“To hear that, I'm glad I was.” She turned over and adjusted her covers. “Dork.”

* * *

Buford, Baljeet, and their families had gathered in the Van Stomm panic room.

“Why do you have a panic room beneath 10 feet of reinforced steel?” Baljeet finally worked up the courage to ask.

“Nuclear bomb.” Buford responded, without missing a beat.

* * *

** A/N: Ooh! I'm excited now. This idea kind of solidified in my head around chapter 5 or 6 in part 1, and I'm very happy to finally be writing it. Thanks for all the traffic around this fic! As I predicted, CATU kinda brought us some really cool new fics and writers. If y'all are looking for some good fluff, I cannot recommend Frostwinghatchling's “Passing Notes” enough. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and a few have even influenced the direction of my writing in a positive way. It's very helpful as a first time fic writer. **

**Next Time:**

**Drusselsteinian Dynamite**

**The neighborhood bands together! Bureaucracy gets in the way! A new threat emerges!**


	12. Drusselsteinian Dynamite

**A/N: Back again. You might enjoy this one, it's been cooking in my head since I thought up Part 2. As always, read and review! Making people laugh is the coal for the furnace of my soul.**

**Responses:**

**Fanfic Reviews:**

**Bigou: A wild, out-there concept like that isn't actually impossible in the setting I'm establishing in this part, but my lips are sealed. Thanks for enjoying.**

**AO3 Comments:**

**Black_Mist: I didn't think I would have fun writing an Isabella that is actively trying to be less defined by Phineas, but it turned out to be one of the most fun chapters in the project. When Buford says 'One of my favorites' in 11, He's speaking on my behalf.**

**NightOfNetter: Thanks, dude. It means a lot.**

**JetZFlare: There was one episode where Suzy and Isabella interact. The only interaction they have is Suzy stealing Phineas' attention away, to Isabella's frustration. As for the Arrested Development bit, I kind of ad-libbed it based on an in-joke. I once described MML as “Arrested Development for kids” due to it's emphasis on running gags and being extremely good. Not wanting to mention MML in-universe, I opted to name-drop AD instead.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Drusselsteinian Dynamite**

* * *

Phineas awoke in the Garcia-Shapiro's basement bright and early (or dark and early, because there was no light in the room) as always. His ears perked at the sound of rustling in the sleeping bag across from him. Isabella woke up suddenly in a puddle of her own drool and awoke with a start. Phineas quickly grabbed her by the shoulder and shushed her. She looked at him with some confusion.

“Am I still dreaming?” She glanced at her parents, who were snoring loudly in the cot, and it occurred to her that the day before had been less than pleasant. “So,” She kept a low tone, “How was the floor?”

Phineas pushed his arms into the back of his spine and heard a satisfying crack. He rubbed his back tenderly. He rolled his shoulder and cracked his neck. “I've had worse.”

“Really, now?” She rolled into a cross-legged position. Phineas collected his shirt from the corner of the room (he had trouble with the heat) and stuffed himself into it. Isabella quietly observed, chin resting on her hand, a small smile forming on her lips.

“Uh...” Phineas scratched the back of his head as he stood up. “You got me. Not really.” He took a seat next to her, and she scooted closer. He was starting to feel a little woozy. “We're stuck in here until Ferb inevitably clears away the debris for us.” He was remembering more and more of the preceding day, and as a result was breathing rapidly.

The storms had been on-and-off all night. It was enough that nobody could reach anybody else, and they weren't sure why.

* * *

“Just one question, young man: Why did you think you could just do whatever you wanted, at significant risk to yourself, whenever you wanted.” Linda huffed in frustration.

Ferb blinked. He needed Phineas, and he needed him bad.

* * *

“Gee.” Isabella rocked back and forth. She looked down at the floor. “That's not so bad, though, huh?”  _ Though I wish Mom and Dad weren't here to spoil it. _

“Yeah. Yeah. Not so bad.”  _ Though I wish Mr. Garcia-Shapiro would decide whether he wanted me dead or not. _

Phineas quickly grabbed her hand, before either of their brains could object. Isabella let out a slight gasp, followed by a contented sigh. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.  _ She can probably see the sweat. _

It didn't matter all too much though, because there was some time before any chance of rescue and some time before Isabella's doting parents regained consciousness. The only sounds were breathing and the snores of the parents.

“Pinky's been missing since the wedding...” Isabella muttered. Phineas gave her a slight look of concern. She quickly waved away his curiosity. “Oh, no, I'm not worried. After all, he's one of those... agents, too.”

“Do you feel angry about it?”

“No. Did you? I mean, with Perry?”

“Yeah. Kind of ashamed of it, honestly. He was just doing what was best for us.”

A period of silence (Again, excepting the snoring) followed.

“You got anything else good to talk about?” Isabella whispered as she leaned into his shoulder.

“Processing. Just processing. Sitting is good, for now. Talk later.” Phineas' brain was, for the moment, not racing with any exterior thoughts. None of his thoughts were louder than the touch of the girl he was serving as a pillow for, and it was nice to only be feeling one type of pressure.

So they simply enjoyed each other's feelings. Phineas laid back, taking Isabella with him. It was a few moments before he realized she had once again dozed off on top of him. He stroked her hair softly and in no time at all, he had fallen asleep too.

Phineas was also a snorer. I mean, look at that nose.

* * *

Vanessa puffed angrily at her cell phone. “Stupid network's down!”

Heinz, with whom she had hunkered down for the night in Roger's office, gave her a raised eyebrow while he pulled on a candle holder. “You're telling me that between Danville being teleported to a dimensional void where storms of seemingly random objects fall from the sky, the cell tower went down? What a shock!” The candle holder, obviously, did not budge.

“Dad, I'm not shocked, just-”

“I'm not shocked either, honey, it was sarcasm.”

“But-” Vanessa sighed. “I could tell it was sarcasm, Dad.” At the sound of rustling beneath the mayoral desk (A very fine desk, solid oak), Vanessa waltzed around to help Roger to his feet. The on-and-off nature of the storms had been curious. Heinz had gone out on the balcony to take a leak (juvenile, I know) and the calm skies immediately began to spit objects at an area around City Hall.

Vanessa noticed a timer in the corner of the room where Heinz was rifling through the bookshelves. “Do we have anything to eat in here?” He turned back to face his brother.

“What, in the office? No, that's a bookshelf.”

Heinz continued to pull out random books and replace them. “The secret kitchen lever is probably around here somewhere.”

Eyeing the timer, Vanessa looked up at her father, who was a couple of shelves up on a large bookcase. “Dad, what's up with the timer?”

“Well, I figured...” Heinz rolled his wrist for effect. “That since the day started, I should time it. The storm stops completely when that... fake looking sun is in the sky.”

Indeed, the dimensional void's sun did not rise. It simply appeared to be drawn in the sky when morning came, and it had not moved since. “Night lasted about 8 hours, give or take,” He elaborated, “Which means that it's about the same as the night of the Summer Solstice. But it's possible we could have days that last longer.”

“Why don't we grab a bite to eat out on Main Street?” Roger suggested. Both of the other occupants of the room gave him a confused look.

“Roger, I hate to break it to you, but I doubt The Diner Downtown is gonna be reopening today.” Heinz' tone dripped with trepidation.

“Nonsense, Heinz! Just look at that beautiful sky!” Roger marched out on the balcony and put his hand above his eyes. “Marvelous day for a little family get-together!”

“Uh-oh.” Vanessa groaned. Heinz made a circular motion around his ear with his finger in her direction and hopped off the shelf. The bookcase groaned and fell forward. Heinz narrowly avoided being crushed as the books splayed across the floor.

“Are you alright?” Heinz couldn't hide his slight concern. Roger smiled warmly at him as he clasped his hands together.

“So, The Diner?”

* * *

“Agent P!”

Perry muttered something in his sleep. The eventful night before had resulted in him being able to get very little in the way of shut-eye, so he was making up for lost time.

“AGENT P!”

Perry awoke with a disgruntled groan, eyeing his wrist communicator. Closed-circuit networking was very much operational in the Tri-State Area, much to his chagrin. He clicked the button on the communicator and an image of Francis Monogram appeared on-screen.

“Good morning, Agent P! And a good morning it is, too! I'm-”

“We've, sir!” A feminine, though distinctly male, voice interrupted.

“WE'VE. Irving insists I tell you that everybody in the office is FINE.” Francis waved dismissively. Irving had started interning at OWCA while the newly minted Captain Carl was climbing OWCA's hierarchy. Irving had, at first, found it difficult to keep from revealing Perry's identity himself. That's where Irving's been this whole time. Just for the record, nobody noticed.

“We've actually got good news this time. By OWCA rules, officially, we have to reassign you. However, there is the small problem of there being no place we can put you that isn't the Tri-State Area due to...” Monogram pointed at a small child's crude drawing of the sky. “Circumstances. So for now, we're going to be reorganizing OWCA into a peacekeeping force in the case that anyone tries to take advantage of this situation for personal gain. We'll call you when we need you, so happy vacationing!”

Perry smiled toothily before clicking off the watch as Ferb entered from the garage, where the family was emerging from the panic room. Ferb glanced at Perry with curiosity as he ambled into the kitchen and took a seat. He sat there, silently, for a few seconds before palming his face with sudden realization. He got up and headed into the garage, after which only the sounds of metal grinding could be heard.

Linda, Candace, and Lawrence stumbled aimlessly into the room, clearly all exhausted. Linda sank into the couch, followed by Lawrence, and the two almost immediately fell asleep on top of each other. “Well. Guess I'm... Breakfast... Guy.” Candace managed to form a semi-coherent thought as she rifled through the cabinets. Breakfast was revealed to be sugary cereal and milk, but she did at least have the courtesy to pour 4 bowls.

Ferb emerged from the garage carrying a large drill on his shoulder with his right hand. Nimbly picking up the bowl of cereal with his left, he gave a quick thumbs-up thank you and headed out the door. He stared at Perry as he headed out.

Candace debated for some time afterwards whether or not what she had witnessed was possible, as his hands were clearly full.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella had begun to stir. A sharp noise from above suddenly jerked the two back into consciousness. The boy had, for his part, developed a pool of saliva in his mouth as he snorted awake. Coughing as he choked on his own spit, he realized it was the sound of a drill. “Ferb!”

Isabella clutched Phineas fearfully as the room shook. The adults, meanwhile, were in a panic. Vivian rolled off the bed, taking the covers with her and kicking around on the floor. Joe searched for what was presumably a gun beneath his bed, grunting disappointingly as he didn't find it. Phineas watched everyone with confusion. “IT'S FERB!” He shouted over the noise of the drill. Everybody froze in place. Isabella glanced at her father and quickly let go of Phineas. The basement door burst open, flinging the metal doors down the stairs. Phineas quickly jerked Isabella out of the way as the she grazed the door.

Ferb stood in silhouette at the top of the staircase, earning an angry glare from his brother. “Watch it! You almost killed Isabella!” Ferb shrugged.

“Didn't think that through.” Ferb rubbed his chin. Isabella was mostly just shocked, but Phineas nodded slightly at Ferb. Ferb scratched his forehead. “Sorry.” He finished, in a very small voice.

Phineas' glare slowly turned into a smile. “Thanks for coming for us, though.”

“Yep.” Joseph shoved past Phineas and walked up the stairs. “A few more hours in there and we might have had to eat someone.”

Ferb cleared the way. Joe walked up to the fridge, opened it, and suddenly realized that he wasn't a good cook. Isabella dragged Phineas up the stairs. Vivian struggled to get out of her blanket, but eventually emerged from her cocoon and dusted herself off. “I didn't need your help anyways.” She muttered.

“Sorry, Dear!” Joseph yelled from up the stairs. “Nature calls!”

“I don't think that means what you think that means.” Isabella giggled. She shoved past her father and grabbed some ingredients out of the fridge. “Phineas, Ferb, you want to stay for breakfast?”

“Sure!” Phineas quickly agreed, putting his arm around Ferb's shoulder. Joseph groaned quietly. Vivian stretched as she finally made it up the stairs.

“We should definitely have the Flynn-Fletchers over! After all, there's so much to discuss!” She went to pick up the phone and-

It wasn't there. The wall, that is. The fridge was the only thing in the kitchen that had managed to remain intact. Everybody took their surroundings in, realizing that what had once been a beautiful home was now a pile of rubble. The appliances were smashed and dented. The plumbing pipes had been destroyed. There were holes in all the walls. Doors had been knocked off their hinges. It was a ruin.

Vivian sat down on one of the few chairs in the residence and simply stared at the destruction. Joseph put a hand on her shoulder and nervously ran a hand through his hair. “Now, now, Viv. It's gonna be all right.”

Isabella was going to say something, but choked up. Joe ruffled her hair affectionately. “Why don't you kids take stock of the Flynn-Fletchers' house and report back? We should definitely, uh, get the neighborhood together.”

Isabella didn't have the chance to really analyze the house, as Phineas grabbed her by the hand and led her out the door. She offered no resistance. Her mouth had dried up from the sense of dread that washed over her.

The two had their fears confirmed when they looked out at their neighborhood. “This... This is awful.” Phineas looked over his house. It was better constructed than the rest of the neighborhood, but it had nonetheless been taken down to a single story. The fence around the backyard had been demolished. A metal pipe stuck out of the top of the tree.

“W-well. At least you guys didn't have your WHOLE house wrecked.” Isabella observed. “I bet the wiring and the plumbing could be repaired- y'know, you could handle it.”

“Y-yeah.” Phineas managed to sputter. “This... Is workable. We get...” He glanced down the block. The other houses on the street had it much worse than the Flynn-Fletcher residence, and everyone had noticed, and a small crowd had gathered at the border of the lawn, murmuring.

“I think the first thing we need...” He grasped at a faint idea, but it was all very overwhelming.

Isabella pulled him in by the shoulder. “First, the bushes are nature's toilet. Plumbing isn't priority. I think food is priority.”

“You're right. We need to get power on so everybody can maybe get cooking...” Phineas muttered. “But there's the problem of location. We'd have to get a bunch of cooking appliances together in one place so we don't have to rewire the whole neighborhood right now.” He beamed suddenly as he snapped a finger. “Ferb! I know what we're doing... First! Today!” Ferb nodded in agreement.

* * *

Heinz and Vanessa flanked Roger as he waltzed down main street in Danville. The destruction was of a scale that Heinz had never seen. It looked as if every building had been blown out by bombs. Rubble littered the streets, complemented by completely random junk. Heinz stepped over a large stuffed animal. Roger appeared to not be taking any of this in. He was waving at shaken passers-by, smiling at people, and generally acting as he normally did in his day-to-day mayoral duties. His eyes occasionally twitched as he gritted his teeth. “Everything... Is... Fine.” He muttered.

Vanessa sped up to match Roger and gave him a strange look. “Uncle Roger, you really seem to be taking this well.”

“Taking what well? Is there some sort of problem? Oh!” Roger pointed in the direction of a neighborhood. “Look at that! Smell that! I know where we're eating this morning!”

Indeed, a pleasing aroma was drifting their way from that direction. Roger broke into a brisk jog, and the other two quickly scrambled to pick up the pace. “Wait!” Vanessa called out. Heinz really wasn't much of a runner, but the two managed to keep a decent pace with him.

“Come on, Heinz! You really should exercise more often!” He yelled back at them, in a jovial tone. They couldn't really do anything but follow. His smile looked painfully forced.

* * *

“Alright! That's another one!” Phineas plugged in the final cable, completing a circuit of stoves and ovens. The boy grunted as he got up. He surveyed his work as Ferb's arm slipped around his shoulder. Some 30 or so stoves and grills had been daisy-chained into a large generator Ferb had buried in the backyard. People from all over the neighborhood were hard at work putting together a community breakfast the likes of which Danville had never seen.

“You won't even have to advertise this one, Phineas!” Isabella laughed. “The smell will drag em' in from all over town!” She had, of course, chosen a cooking space close to the brothers' generator. She had changed into a skirt and a pink short-sleeve when she got the chance to. “You two want anything in particular?”

“You make it, I'll eat it!” Phineas poked his head out from behind the generator, where he had been making sure there would be no explosion.

“I'm a simple man. Pancakes.” Ferb smiled. The two had gotten into some work jeans, which had already been a bit stained by oil, dirt, and a bit of sweat. Ferb wiped his brow.

The rest of the Fireside Girls had arrived very early in the morning to help with a cleanup effort, and had been recruited by Isabella to set up tables and chairs in the now mostly-clear streets, as well as the empty lot next to the Flynn-Fletcher house. In a mere hour, their bombed out patch of rubble had been transformed into one of Danville's famous local cookouts. The few vehicles that remained undamaged (Namely the boys' own ice cream trucks) had been sent to deliver ingredients and people from around town, so even a few professional chefs had pitched in to the effort.

Phineas and Ferb folded out some chairs, put their feet up on the table, and kicked back, allowing themselves to relax for the first time in what felt like days. Professional chefs were one thing. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro was another. Phineas watched her work intently, and she took notice. “You need anything?” He asked.

“Nah. For as tough as this whole thing's been, I think we've got everything we need right here.” She stylishly flipped a pancake into the air, catching it on a large plate that contained the first batch. “That was a pretty convenient request, Ferb.” She mixed more ingredients into her large bowl of batter, topping it back up. “Pancakes are easy, fast, and-” The boys had already syruped and eaten the whole first wave. “delicious.” She grinned.

The Fireside Girls wiped the sweat from their brows and joined the boys at the table. “Gee, Isabella. You had this handled.” Ginger watched with admiration as Isabella confidently worked on feeding the rest of her friends. “It's like last night didn't even happen to you.” She sounded exasperated.

“Well, we've practically got a bomb shelter in our basement.” Isabella glanced over at Phineas as she whispered to the girls. “Plus, the guy that warned us about the storm got stuck in there with us, and he's good enough company.” Phineas didn't realize how wide his grin had become, having rested his chin on his hands. The girls stared at his stupid expression.

“Wow. That moved pretty fast.” Gretchen commented.

“Impressive.” The other Gretchen also commented.

“Do you mind telling me why there's two Gretchens, dear?” Joseph took a seat next to Phineas. He hadn't actually had the chance to eat anything yet.

“Oh, that's Gretchn't. She's also from that other dimension, but she's not evil.” Isabella flipped a pancake onto her father's plate. Phineas held himself back from an interception. Gretchen and Gretchn't were indeed sitting together, and the only way one could tell them apart was Gretchn't's camouflage beret contrasting against the rest of the girls.

“Yup. I think we can close the book on that investigation.” Gretchen and her twin's plates received their own ranged pancake-toss. The two doused them in syrup and took bites in almost perfect synchronization.

Joseph grumbled as Vivian joined him. Soon enough, the table had been joined to a few more, and there was a meeting of practically every one of the gang's families. Baljeet and Buford showed up with their families. Buford took a spot next to Ferb, and Baljeet sat next to him across from Ginger. Surprisingly, the tone of the gathering wasn't so much somber as it was sweet.  
Isabella sat down between Phineas and Ferb as her mother got up to start cooking. Ferb thought he might protest, but shut his mouth when he saw Vanessa following Roger into the backyard.

“Mayor Doofenshmirtz!” Phineas clasped his hands together as he stood up suddenly. He walked briskly around the table and stood in front of Roger. The mayor bowed slightly and smiled at the teenager.

“Good morning, Phineas! And what a lovely morning it is, aye?”

Phineas' eyes widened as he looked over Roger's shoulder. Yup. Town's still destroyed. “I, uh, wouldn't say-” He nervously put his hands together as Vanessa approached. “How's the work on getting the city council on board with our plan?”

“There's no need!” Roger pushed past Phineas and browsed the food, picking up a paper plate and loading it with an omelet. “Everything is fine.”

“B-b-b-” Phineas sputtered. He sat next to Roger and leaned into him intently. “We NEED to get a defensive solution together for these storms!”

“Yes, the rain was a bit hard last night, but I'd hardly call it apocalyptic.” Roger shrugged. Phineas gawked, throat dry.

“B-b-but...”

“I'd call it apocalyptic.” Heinz huffed as he sat down next to Phineas. “How's the morning gone for you, kid?”

“Pretty well, all things considered. It would be a lot better if we had those funds...” Phineas rubbed his chin. “Has Roger gone off his rocker?”

“Seems that way.” Vanessa sat down next to her father and picked at some scrambled eggs. She leaned over her father and whispered to Phineas. “We might need to have a 'changing of the guard' so to speak.”

“Nonsense, Vanessa!” Roger grinned. “Look, my constituency is happier than ever!”

In all honesty, he wasn't super far off. The community breakfast had been a breakout success, and people did generally seem to be coping well with the storm. Isabella had even heard that no one was seriously injured or killed.

“Hmmm...” Phineas mumbled, gazing over at Isabella. She noticed, and waved back cutely.

“Forget about her, kid. You have to be at least 25 years of age to run for mayor.” Heinz rolled his eyes. “Also, no matter what you think about her leadership skills, she is a 14 year old girl.”

“Almost 15.” Phineas said, defensively.

“Yeah, sure. Besides the fact, being the ruler of the Tri-State Area right now would take some real gumption. And moxie. And... knowledge of what's going on.” Heinz rested his chin on his hand. “Like some kind of scientist, or something... Somebody who's not afraid to bend the rules. But where could we find one of those?”

Phineas and Vanessa stared blankly at Heinz. Realizing what they were implying, he quickly waved his hands in front of his face. “Oh, no, no, no! I am FINISHED trying to take over the Tri-State Area! I'm going good!”

“We could do it for you! It would be totally legal.” Phineas reassured Heinz. “There's a difference between legality and morality, anyways. We need a leader that...”

“You can control like a puppet?” Vanessa asked.

“Lacks both bravery and charm?” Heinz asked.

“Can get Ferb and I the funds and permits to save the town!” Phineas exclaimed, jumping up on the table and pointing upward. The table was frail, due to being a fold-out, and he quickly tumbled off of it onto his back. “FERB!” He raised his fists to the air. “I KNOW THE SECOND THING WE'RE GOING TO DO TODAY!”

Ferb gave a small thumbs-up, Isabella looked on in adoration, and all of the adults collectively groaned. Linda scowled at the two. Phineas got off the ground and waltzed back over to his spot by Isabella and Ferb, but his mom quickly pulled him aside by his ear.

“Phineas Flynn! What do you think you're doing?”

“Fixing... the problem?” He sincerely hoped this was the right answer.

“Not yet, you aren't! You have a lot of explaining to do, mister.” It wasn't, he guessed. He had rarely heard his mother use such a tone.

“Alright.” Phineas tried his best to sound calm. “What would you like to know?”

“What do you plan on doing today?”

“Uh, political activism, I think. Kind of a boring thing, right?”

“You'd better not be lying to me, Phineas.” Linda suspiciously glared. Phineas shrunk back slightly, in spite of his being about as tall as his mother. When had he ever lied to her?

“When- when have I ever lied to you?” He asked.

Linda thought for a moment. She sent Phineas off with a small, angry huff. Phineas tried to shrug it off, but felt like he had done something wrong. He took his seat next to Ferb and Isabella. Isabella turned to face him. “It looks like you're already making big moves, Mr. Flynn. Schmoozing with politicians and scientists.” She crooned sarcastically.

“Getting your ear pulled by our mother in front of everyone.” Ferb added.

“Shut up, Ferb. You practically curl up into a ball when she looks at you funny.” Phineas chuckled. “I guess, whether we knew it or not, we screwed up pretty bad, huh?” The boys hadn't seen their mother that morning because she and Lawrence were still so beat from the recent trauma of the portal storm, not to mention the unorthodox wedding. Candace, likewise, was in a grumpy mood, saved only by the fact that she was now married to Jeremy Johnson.

“This is not how I envisioned the big bust going down.” Candace muttered, as she sat down between Buford and Ferb, Jeremy in tow. Jeremy walked around the table and sat across, between Gretchn't and Ginger. He glanced at the two Gretchens in bewilderment. They waved.

“It's good to see everyone's safe, though. Stacy and Coltrane are gonna be by shortly.” Jeremy coolly started. “Candace and I were planning on looking for an apartment near the university, but I think that's out of the question considering... The highway is missing.”

“Woah. Yeah. Even though you two are married now, you probably still won't be living together.” Phineas pointed his fork, creating a line linking Candace and Jeremy. “Must be tough.”

“Speaking of living together...” Candace grinned at her little brother mischievously. “I heard somebody didn't make it to the panic room last night because he was busy taking care of his GIRLFRIEND.” She exaggerated the last world.

Phineas and Isabella blushed furiously. “I don't think-” The girl started.

“It's not like-” Phineas stuttered.

“Nothing, you know, happened.” Isabella scratched the back of her neck.

“We didn't, uh-” Phineas continued, “Her parents were there and everything.”

“Yes. Yes we were.” Joseph grumbled, poking at a fifth pancake. This was going to be awful for his diet.

“Yeah, okay, sorry I said anything. It's not like I'm curious.” Candace waved the two off. Jeremy chuckled and set back to eating.

“You know, Candace-” He took a small bite of his pancake and stopped. “These are really good. Who made these?” He surveyed the line of cooks. Isabella raised her hand. “Nice. Very nice.” He turned back to Candace. “Candace, if you really wanted to stay over, I could just put up some soundproofing-”

“Jeremy Robert Johnson!” Candace sharply glared at him. He put his hands up in front of his face defensively.

“Okay, okay! Just saying!” He did his best to hide his smile. The teens around them snickered. Isabella appreciated Jeremy's removing the attention from them.

Phineas waited until everyone had begun eating again to begin describing the day's plan. “We've got a few things to do: Ferb and I need to start on the Defense Grid, permits and funds or not. Roger Doofenshmirtz can't be trusted to run the government, so we should replace him with Heinz.”

“We could run a campaign, Phineas!” Isabella grinned through a mouthful of pancake. The Fireside Girls nodded in agreement. They needed to get their 'Perform a Coup' patches.

“You know,” Isabella started, “I was thinking last night. Do you think that maybe Flint and Suze actually succeeded at getting home this time? At our expense?”

“Suze?” Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

Phineas thought he wouldn't have to explain this again. “Oh, uh, another dimension. She's your sister from another dimension but Flint destroyed hers so-”

“We've run through this enough.” Ferb muttered. “Wait until the perspective shifts.”

* * *

After the perspective shifted, the girls were already well underway in printing flyers and posters. This was the guerrilla marketing campaign. Baljeet and Ginger were hunched over legal texts, trying to locate the part of the Danville Charter pertaining to emergency elections. Baljeet pointed down at the page he was on with an exclamation. “I've found it!” Ginger took the book from him and began to read:

“In the event that it becomes necessary to replace the current mayor of Danville, procedure is as follows: Gather a crowd of at least 1/5th of the town's population at City Hall and yell about it, really loudly.”

A stunned silence overcame the room. “Man, that rule is stupid.” Gretchen observed. Everybody nodded and murmured in agreement.

“It does, on the other hand, make our job REALLY easy.” Isabella walked into the room with Buford in tow, a massive stack of flyers in his arms. “Let's get it done, ladies!”

The girls cheered in agreement. Buford and Baljeet felt left out.

* * *

“Phew!” Phineas wiped the sweat off of his brow with his arm. The unusual climate sure did feel like summer during the daytime. He and his brother had started work on a little side project while they waited for legal clearance on the defense grid. Phineas put his hand up to block the sun in his eyes and grinned. The Flynn-Fletcher house had been completely repaired.

Candace whistled. “That looks really good, boys.” She smiled at them.

“I wanted to rewire the internet from cat5e cable to cat6 anyways.” Ferb monotonously responded. Phineas grabbed Candace by the hand and led her inside.

The house was mostly identical, save for a reorganized dining room. “Hey! How come you knew the position of every photo of Jeremy I hung up in here?” She stared at the perfectly arranged pictures in her room with suspicion.

Phineas and Ferb shrugged. “We were thinking of maybe doing the Garcia-Shapiro's next.”

“As sweet as that is, Phineas,” Candace pulled her brothers in for a hug, “I doubt Isabella would like you poking around in her room.”

“Or her parents, for that matter.” Ferb shuddered. You never know what adults get up to.

“Alright, alright.” Phineas chuckled. “Thanks, guys.”

Candace looked out the window as she thought. That morning, a good amount of tables and chairs for the breakfast had been organized out in the empty lot next to the Flynn-Fletcher house. “If you guys REALLY want to help Danville, a more permanent solution might be building a shelter over in that empty lot.”

“But what if it gets destroyed at the end of the day?” Phineas asked. Candace frowned.

* * *

“PEOPLE OF DANVILLE!” Isabella's voice erupted over a loudspeaker as Buford drove the crew around in the final ice cream truck, throwing pamphlets for the City Hall gathering. “WE'VE DETERMINED THAT ROGER DOOFENSHMIRTZ IS NO LONGER FIT TO BE THE MAYOR OF DANVILLE!”

“Wait a minute,” a random citizen exclaimed, “Why is that?”

Isabella motioned up at the sky, then motioned around at the destruction. Downtown had been hit the hardest. No businesses had even started to get back to running. Electricity was scarce, and all of it was being used to refrigerate what might become a limited perishable supply.

“Look around!” A discontented murmur spread throughout the crowd.

“Yeah, the teenage girl is right!”

“He's the mayor! He should have prevented weird magical bombs!”

“Why was there no emergency plan in the case our town becomes completely isolated from the rest of the United States?”

Isabella smirked. “We're hitting City Hall for a demonstration in an hour! We'll have a candidate that's ready to face the problems of today... today!” She proudly finished and ducked back into the truck. The Fireside Girls, Buford, Baljeet, and Doctor Doofenshmirtz were gathered closely in the back. Baljeet gave her a tenuous look.

“Isabella, you are aware that Roger Doofenshmirtz is not responsible for the dimensional shift, correct?”

“Yes. Yes I am. But he was in office when it happened, and that was his mistake. Gives us an advantage. ” She matter-of-factly stated. The Fireside Girls nodded slowly. Gretchen't glared at her. “Come on! We're doing the necessary thing here, folks!” Isabella raised her hands in exclamation.

“You've never steered us wrong before.” Addyson confidently gazed over the room, hoping they shared her optimism. For the most part, the group did.

Katie slapped a clipboard with some printed pages of text into Heinz' hands. “As for you, Mr.-”

“Doctor.” He interrupted. Katie rolled her eyes.

“Okay, DOCTOR Doofenshmirtz. We wrote you a knock-out of an election speech and an even better inauguration speech!”

“Wow, really? Having somebody else do it feels kind of.. dishonest.” Heinz rubbed the back of his neck.

“A man should be a man of his own word.” Buford intoned from the front. Nobody knew where he was getting these sayings from.

“Don't you know anything about politics?” Isabella gave the three boys a questioning look. “Next you'll say we shouldn't have prepared a teleprompter. This is just how it works, guys.”

“Fine.” The trio sighed in defeat.

* * *

Vanessa climbed up the scaffolding the boys had constructed and yelled up at the older Flynn-Fletcher brother. “Hey, Ferb! Dad said I couldn't fit in the van, so I'm stuck helping you build this...”

“Homeless shelter.” Ferb finished. “Lot's of people without good lodgings after that storm.”

“Well, you guys just have a full plate, don't you?” She joked.

“Yes. Yes we do.” Phineas' eye twitched slightly as he bolted another part of the metal skeleton of the building on. “Not to say we can't handle it. We always handle it...” He continued muttering under his breath.

Ferb helped Vanessa up the last bit of scaffolding and whispered into her ear. “He'll be fine once the others get him out of 'work mode.' I can't do it myself.”

“And I'm the only person that can get you talking, huh?” She picked up a drill and tested it.

“The only woman.” Ferb corrected, grinning slightly. He handed her a box of screws and pointed at a door on the floor of the worksite. “If you could, put the hinges on those doors. You know how?”

“Yeah. Dad's an engineer, genius.” Vanessa huffed humorously as she climbed back down the scaffolding.

Ferb climbed back up to his brother, who was almost finished with the frame. “Vanessa's here.” Phineas commented, monotonously. “I can finish this last part myself. Go hang out with her.”

“If you say so.” Ferb slid down the vertical beams and landed next to Vanessa, startling her slightly. He caught the drill as it fell out of her hands, placing it gingerly back into her palm.

He gave her a thumbs-up and smiled.

* * *

The gathering around City Hall was in full swing. There were signs, and banners, and music, and even an odd torch or two. Isabella dusted off her hands theatrically. “Now that the dirty work is done, all we need to do is get Heinz up there to deliver this crowd-swaying speech and we'll have taken over the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA!” She crowed from her perch atop the ice cream truck. Buford shoved Heinz up to a large podium as the Fireside Girls rolled it out in front of City Hall. Isabella handed Heinz a wireless microphone, powdered some makeup onto his face, and gave him a reassuring wink.

“Greetings-” A harsh feedback emenated from the speakers, causing the audience to cover their ears and stop all the chanting. Isabella raised her hands, making a large 'X' in the direction of the band, signaling them to cut the music. Heinz began to sweat and shake slightly. “Greetings, people of the Tri-State Area. It has come to our collective attention that- that Roger Doofenshmirtz is no longer capable of carrying out his mayoral duties-”

“I beg to differ!” Roger suddenly yelled from his balcony. That was odd. He had disappeared earlier but his reappearance was unexpected. He disappeared back into City Hall and came out a brief while later on the ground floor, stationing himself with a megaphone next to Heinz on the podium. Isabella and the girls clutched their hair. Baljeet, running the teleprompter from his laptop, was unsure of what to do.

“Good people of the Tri-State Area,” A seemingly recovered Roger began passionately, “Now is not the time to be pointing fingers! Now is the time for us to come together as a community! Just this morning, a neighborhood recovering from the disaster of last night's storm-”

“He's actually getting it.” Isabella and Gretchen shared a look. “Does this mean we won't have to replace him?”

“-served the most delicious community cookout that this town has seen in years!” The crowd murmured in agreement. That had, indeed, occurred.

“Why, even the young Isabella Garcia-Shapiro pitched in, and made me the best pancakes I've ever eaten in my life!” Isabella smiled slightly at the acknowledgment.

“Wow, he does have a way with words.” Gretchen't pointed down at the crowd, who were listening intently. “The people are just eating it up.”

“What Danville needs right now is not a changing of the guard! Danville needs stability, and community, all things that my administration has fostered in the past and will continue to foster!”

Even Buford was paying serious attention. He leaned over and looked up at the girls on the truck. “Hey, if he's back to normal, we don't even need to replace him, right?”

“Danville will thrive in this time of crisis not because of me or my government, but because of you, the people!”

The crowd erupted into a cheer. “Four more years! Four more years!”

Isabella laid back on her seat. Ginger shrugged. “Well, I guess all's well that ends well.”

Heinz, onstage, was paralyzed with fear and embarrassment. He was sweating bullets like he hadn't since his wedding. Watching his former allies turn against him, suddenly occurred to him that something must be done.

“Wait just a second.” Heinz spoke. The crowd hushed. The doctor threw the clipboard aside, scattering papers all over the podium. He leered at Roger suspiciously. “That speech was a bunch of baloney!”

The crowd was utterly silent. The gang looked on in eager anticipation. “This just got interesting.” Buford leaned against the truck, shifting it slightly.

“All this talk of 'community'. You aren't the community! You're the government! A government that completely dropped the ball last night! While the city cowered in fear, you didn't once consider that offer from the Flynn-Fletcher brothers!”

“The Flynn-Fletcher brothers? Phineas and Ferb?” The crowd spoke in whispers. Roger gulped.

“Yes, the Flynn-Fletcher brothers! Phineas and Ferb!” Heinz declared, pointing a finger to the sky.

“He doesn't mean to be using God symbolism right now, does he?” Gretchen asked. Nobody answered.

“Those two came into his office practically begging him to allocate government funds and zoning for a water solution, later a defense grid, and he denies them because he wants to keep the money in the festivals and cookouts we have every single summer to drive tourism! What's the logic there? Who's gonna be a tourist?”

Roger felt hundreds of angry eyes sharply focused on him.

“And furthermore, we don't even NEED money for that stuff! The teens just organized it this morning! Off the cuff! So, yeah. Your leader is an incompetent fool, and even though I am also incompetent and also a fool, I sure as heck aren't stupid enough to do anything like that.”

Silence followed for a few seconds before the crowd exploded into a collective chant. “That guy for Mayor! That guy for Mayor!”

Heinz tapped the microphone. “My name is, uh, Heinz Doofenshmirtz.”

“The other Doofenshmirtz for Mayor! The other Doofenshmirtz for Mayor!”

Isabella gathered all the Fireside Girls in a group hug. Buford and Baljeet grinned furiously. Just like that, after years of trying, Heinz Doofenshmirtz had taken over the entire Tri-State Area.

* * *

Perry the Platypus smashed into the window of the mayor's office, startling Heinz, who was just getting settled in. “Ack! Perry the Platypus!” Vanessa looked up from her desk.

Perry glared at the Doctor, and made a motion with his hands challenging him to a fight.

“You misunderstand completely, Perry the Platypus. This time, conquering the Tri-State Area was actually a good thing!” Heinz explained, putting his feet up on the desk. “I didn't even want the job this time. So you can't beat me up for it, at least not before I save the town.”

Perry chattered discontentedly. Phineas, Ferb and Isabella walked through the door, clipboards in hand. Perry instinctively put his hat away.

“C'mon, Perry. You don't have to do that anymore, remember?” Phineas laughed. Perry scratched the back of his head, and slowly put the fedora back on. Phineas patted him on the head. “That's the spirit!”

“Hey, Ferb.” Vanessa waved. “Phineas. Other girl.”

“Isabella.” Isabella shrewdly responded.

“Yeah, whatever. You guys got the budget proposal?”

“And do we!” Phineas grinned as he slapped the clipboard down on the table.

“We do.” Ferb finished.

Heinz looked over the proposal quickly. “Well, it all looks well and good, but where could we possibly source the money for the parts necessary?”

“Also, why do you need money for parts this time?” Vanessa asked. “You usually just build stuff.”

“Uh, that's a story for a different day. Let's just say that Danville is not our source of revenue.” Phineas said.

“It's just that Roger was kind of right, you know?” Heinz ran his hand through his hair as he looked over the sheet. “I mean, all of these events are so essential and-” His face fell flat. “Oh, wait. Easy answer.”

* * *

The Danville Defense Grid project was approved in short order. The money had been siphoned from the Meatloaf Festival fund, disappointing the 13 people who were excited for it. Phineas and Ferb had installed the base into City Hall after finishing the shelter, which was, thanks to Doofenshmirtz' quick efforts with the Electricity-inator, hooked into the electric grid.

“Okay, Ferb.” Phineas looked up at the hole they had made in the middle of the hall. The sun had begun to drip down the canvas of sky. “It looks like it'll be dark soon, and that means more of those portal storms!”

Ferb nodded, hopping down from the large metallic cylinder at the base of the emplacement. The two had built it in the basement of City Hall, and the plan was for it to extend out, penetrating into the first floor and the mayor's office, before surrounding the entire city in a strong plastic barrier that had small holes to let in the rain. Phineas grinned, producing a remote from his pocket.

“Alright, bro! Behold! The Danville Defense Grid!” He cackled as he slammed the glowing button.

Nothing happened.

Ferb plugged the DDG's power cable into an outlet. He gave his brother a thumbs-up.

“Oh. Okay. Behold! Again! The Danville Defense Grid!” Phineas' cackle returned to a fever pitch as he pressed the button again, lightly this time.

The steel cylinder extended up into the sky. The citizens of the Tri-State Area looked on in awe as the pipe rose into the atmosphere, reaching an incredible height before stopping with a shudder. A comforting male voice boomed over the city from above.

_“Warning! The Danville Defense Grid is active! Please step away from the edge of the city!”_

Ferb recognized it as his voice, and he glared at his brother. He had said it while they were pitching security measures, and apparently Phineas had recorded it on his phone.

“So it's just gonna be my voice up there, huh?”

“Uhhh... yeah. Why not?” Phineas shrugged.

“Will it count as me speaking?” Ferb answered his question with a question, perturbed.

“No, no. Of course not.” Phineas assured him. “I could replace it with Irving's voice if you would like.” He joked.

The two stood in silence for a solid minute, simply looking up at their latest achievement. Ferb turned to Phineas.

“Wait a second, what the heck even happened to Irving?”

* * *

_Plonk! Plink! Bam! Smash!_

Isabella and the Fireside Girls (Buford and Baljeet in tow) had rolled out a picnic blanket and were watching the portal storms scattered throughout the sky. The distant smashing created a comforting quilt of sound above them as they laid about enjoying burgers that some grateful chefs from a nearby restaurant had made them. Gretchen had set up a plastic umbrella to shield from the rain that was dripping off the holes in the Defense Grid. Baljeet and Buford were just out of the radius of the umbrella, and were getting wet in spite of it.

“C'mon! Why do we gotta be the guys left out in the cold?” Buford complained.

“Baljeet, if you want to scoot in a bit closer, that would be fine.” Ginger circled the space beside her with her finger. Baljeet nervously tensed.

“No thank you. This is perfectly comfortable for me.” He said, soaking wet at this point.

Buford got up off of his butt and began to walk down the hill. “Screw this. I'm going home. It's been a long enough day.”

Baljeet stared at Buford as he stumbled down the incline. Buford fell over, tumbling down and covering himself in grass and water. Baljeet tenuously looked over at Ginger, and then scooched over just a bit so that the umbrella covered him.

“See? That wasn't so hard, was it?” Ginger smirked. The girls laughed in unison. Baljeet blushed furiously.

Phineas and Ferb came over the other side of the hill, both brandishing umbrellas. Ferb was carrying a cooler. “Very nice work, girls!” The younger boy congratulated. “We just got the Defense Grid situated in Dr. D's office, so we're free for the night.”

* * *

Heinz and Vanessa stared at the massive hole in the middle of the office. “They know when the Grid comes back down it's gonna just be a falling hazard, right?” Vanessa grumbled from her desk. In a strange, ironic twist, she was once again now her father's assistant.

“Seems kind of like a major design flaw.” Heinz rubbed the back of his neck. “Then again, we did just assign responsibility of this whole project to two teenagers. You reap what you sow.”

“You what?”

“Reap. It's like when you pull the crops out of the ground.”

“Well, use that, then.”

“You pull out of the ground what you sow.”

“And why not change sow to something like 'what you plant'?”

“You pull out of the ground... What you plant. I don't know, Vanessa. It just doesn't have the same ring to it.”

Heinz checked his new clock, which he had created based on the amount of time that had passed between the sun coming up and the sun going down. The day had lasted about 30 hours. It was 13:00 PM.

Thus ended a productive day for the government of the Tri-State Area.

* * *

Ferb set down his cooler and opened it up. It contained a heated soup thermos and an assortment of mugs. Isabella sniffed. “You guys brought hot cocoa?”

“Yeah.” Phineas chuckled. “We swiped it from City Hall's kitchen on the way out. Figured we deserved a party, or something.”

“We saved you two some burgers.” Gretchen held up the still-warm paper bag. The two stuck their umbrellas in the ground and took the food, pouring the girls some mugs in the process. Everyone gazed up at the dark purple hues of the sky and admired the storm.

“From a safe distance, it really does look quite beautiful.” Ferb rested his chin on his hands.

The gang got a brief period of respite as calm and relief came over them. Then, Phineas' phone rang. Phineas held the phone up to his ear, only to jerk it away as all he could hear on the other end was garbled, panicked screaming. “That was Mayor Doofenshmirtz!” Phineas hung up the phone and looked over at his friends, who were starting to get up. Phineas ran down the hill, tugging Ferb with him. “Party will have to wait, girls! We have to help Heinz!”

Isabella chased after the two as they slipped and slid down the hill. City Hall was only a few blocks away, so they made it pretty quickly. The door had already been broken in, and there was a trail of black goop leading up the stairs. Phineas put his arms out, stopping Isabella and Ferb from proceeding. The trio observed the liquid, but it didn't appear to be damaging anything around it.

“Is Dr. D being attacked by a giant snail?” Isabella squatted to take a closer look at the mysterious substance.

“I am so, so tired of today.” Phineas huffed out, raggedly following the trail of goop. When he got upstairs, he realized the door to the mayor's office had already been penetrated. Fear nearly paralyzed the three as they slowly crept through the door.

In the center of the room, next to the Defense Grid, was a dark figure. Odd, considering the room was well-lit. Heinz had passed out on his desk.

“Ah.” The figure murmured as it stopped fiddling with the Defense Grid and turned to the trio.

“D-d-did Flint tell you anything about a brother?” Isabella squeezed Phineas' hand tightly.

The figure standing before them was a purple, shadowy Ferb. He had glowing white eyes, containing no pupils. He assessed the three for a bit, smiled viciously, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The boys flinched at the _POOF_ sound it made, but the explosion had left them all unharmed. The three stood in shock together as Heinz came to. Ferb seemed to have a thought and quickly slid over to Vanessa's desk, picking her up off the ground where she had slumped.

“Uh- wha- oh. Hey Ferb.” Vanessa frowned. “How did I get down here?”

“Well apparently, I did it.” Ferb looked over at the DDG.

“Oh! Right! That wasn't actually you, was it?”

Ferb opened his mouth to answer but was quickly cut off by Heinz. “Oh, it was horrifying! He came in, dropped some kind of knockout gas on Vanessa, and then threatened me into telling him the shutoff code to the Defense Grid!”

“That's odd.” Isabella inspected the panel on the Defense Grid. There was a slightly sticky purple goo on some of the keys.

“He didn't get it, of course. Firstly because of my masterful interrogation resistance skills, and secondly because I passed out in fear almost immediately.”

“So, first a malicious Phineas and... that girl, and now some un-talkative stranger is trying to take away our portal storm thingee.” Vanessa crossed her arms. “This isn't really how I expected this internship to go.”

“Hey, I'm more surprised than you.” Dr. Doofenshmirtz got up from his chair, yawning. “What say we home, Vanessa?”

“Sure thing. Ferb?” Ferb glanced at Vanessa silently as she spoke. “Lock up after you're done investigating, okay?” She tossed him the keys to the building. Ferb caught them and turned around with a wave.

“Well, I'm beat.” Phineas yawned. “It's already 13:10. Nearly midnight.” Isabella huffed in agreement. “Stick around if you want, Ferb. Izzy and I are gonna walk home.”

Ferb scratched his chin. Isabella grabbed Phineas' hand and tugged him out the door. “See ya, Ferb!”

A minute or so after they left, Ferb got up and walked out of the Mayor's Office. Hey, he was tired too.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella, exhausted from the day's events, ambled home. Phineas had his umbrella out, holding it over his and Isabella's head. Rain poured in torrents off of the sides. Isabella began to shiver. The two could see their breath.

Phineas smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and bringing her in closer to him. “That a bit better?”

“Y-yeah.” She blushed a bit, her breath steadying. She reached around his back.

“It's, uh, awfully cold. I wish we hadn't ditched the cocoa on that hill.” Phineas chuckled. The two walked in silence for a bit.

“I want to thank you for being there for me today.” Phineas started. He rubbed the back of his head. “Ferb isn't exactly the best emotional support. You, um... Managed it.”

“'It'?” Isabella looked up at him.

“Eh, it's just been stressful. All the stuff we suddenly HAVE to deal with.” Phineas and Isabella gazed out at the streets as they got closer to their neighborhood. The Fireside Girls' cabin had yet to be rebuilt. “No fun at all.”

“I get so busy looking out for everyone else that I forget to look out for myself.” Isabella muttered. Phineas frowned, but then smirked at her.

“I admire that spirit of self-sacrifice, but I agree. Ferb and I will take care of that first thing in the morning. Speaking of, I did manage to do something nice for you today.” He grabbed her hands and rubbed them together.

“You smell gross, Phineas.” Isabella finally caught the stench of his work clothes, which were now far dirtier than they were this morning.

“Then why are you still so close to me?” Phineas' goofy smile was one she hadn't seen in a bit.

“Because... Because we still haven't finished our date!”

“Oh, yeah. Never got dinner like I planned.” The two finally approached the Garcia-Shapiro residence. Isabella looked up at her house. It had been completely reconstructed. “Candace told me not to, but...”

“Did you go through my stuff?” Isabella asked, looking away from him to hide her embarrassment.

“Nah. Had your Dad take care of it.” Phineas chuckled. “But I did spy a book with a strange title inside of your closet.”

“Y-you... That's an invasion of privacy!” She turned back to his face, glaring at him. Phineas was taken aback, and recoiled a bit in fear. Her grip on his back tightened.

“Like I said, I didn't mean to!” Phineas protested. Isabella's glare turned into a laugh.

“Pffft! Like I really care! You fixed my house, dude!” She hugged him tightly, lifting him slightly off the ground. Phineas winced as his back popped.

“Any... Thing for you.” He managed to heave out. “Dude.”

Isabella giggled as she approached her door. Phineas stayed at the bottom of the steps. “So?” She motioned towards him. “You gonna come in for dinner, or what?”

“I don't know, I- my parents are gonna be worried.” Phineas scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I think my mom's still on the warpath.”

“Even more reason to come in.” Isabella smiled flirtatiously.

“Fine. Fine.” Phineas waved his hands defensively, and stepped through her door after her.

“Shoes by the door! You two are soaking!” Joe's gruff voice echoed from upstairs.

The two heard thumping on the stairs as they removed their shoes. Vivian Garcia-Shapiro quickly stepped down onto the main floor and swept up the two in a big bear hug. “It's good to see you two! So busy!” She set them down and ruffled Isabella's hair. “Too busy for even your mother these days, my goodness!”

Phineas grinned at Isabella and hopped up on a stool next to the breakfast bar. He swung around it casually, putting his arms behind his head. “Yup, we're busy alright. I WAS, however, promised dinner.”

Isabella rifled through the cabinets, pulling out some cocoa mix. She tossed it to Phineas. “That's your job. Gotta work for it.”

“Well, your father is ready for bed. We were just waiting up for you.” Vivian kissed her daughter on the forehead. “Have a good night, Isa. Don't stay up too late now.” She walked back up the stairs, leaving the teenagers alone in the dimly lit kitchen. Phineas poured some milk into a pot and set it on a heater.

Isabella put some oil in a pan and got some tortillas out of her fridge. Phineas took his seat and twiddled his thumbs. “This is the most boring part of cooking, I think. The waiting bit.”

Isabella quickly set out another pot, grabbed some ground beef, and handed Phineas a brick of cheese with a grater. “No such thing as a waiting bit when you're working.”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Phineas ran the cheese over the grate slowly.

“Phineas.” Isabella grabbed the cheese from him and started to grate it rapidly. “Like this.”

“Sorry. I can do eggs, but I don't really cook.” Phineas ran his hand through his hair. He took it back from her and got a bit faster.

“So, uh, does this mean we're...” Isabella focused on baking a tortilla in a pan as not to let her nervousness show. “Official?”

“Nah. Just two BFFs sharing dinner in a dimly lit setting late at night.” Phineas chuckled. “Yeah. I suppose it does. Everyone else seems to think so.”

“Yeah, but I-” She stopped herself, huffed slightly, and tossed around the beef. “There are certain... Things. We haven't done.”

“Oh, yeah.” Phineas looked up from his meticulously cultivated pile of cheese. “Romance... Stuff.”

Isabella rolled her eyes. For all of the progress she had made shockingly fast, Phineas was still an absolute idiot when it came to reading a situation. Then again, he could just be as uneasy as she was. They hadn't dated anyone else before, even if Isabella had a lot of grand visions of it.

Phineas set the cheese down and put himself at Isabella's side as the food simmered. He reached past her and rustled some of the ground beef, which was now about done. “There. I'm a chef.”

She giggled as she reached past him to flip the tortilla with a flourish. Phineas' goofy smile was back, and she found it incredibly endearing. He wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned in towards her.

Phineas suppressed a gulp. Isabella took a small breath inward as he put his lips to hers. She dropped the pan she was holding back onto the heater with a small clatter, wrapping her arms around his neck. The two separated after what felt like forever, heaving slightly.

Isabella's face was as red as a cherry. She took her hands off Phineas' neck and rubbed the sides of her face. “Gosh...” She giggled. Phineas nervously laughed as he glanced at the tortilla in the pan.

“Well.” Phineas let Isabella go, putting his hands behind his back.

Isabella snapped out of her trance with the crackling of the oil in the pans. Isabella gasped and quickly poured the contents of the pan onto plates. Nimbly wrapping a couple of burritos for the two, she took a seat. Phineas sniffed the air a bit, turning to her and snapping a finger.

“Smells good.”

“Makes one of us.” Isabella rested her chin on her hands, grinning. “You know how long I've wanted to kiss you, Phineas Flynn?”

“I don't want to know.” Phineas wiped his brow with his sleeve, leaving a bit of oil on his forehead.

“Good answer.” She wistfully assured. She slid a plate across to Phineas, who brought it back around as he sat next to her on a stool.

The two began eating. Phineas wolfed his down in seconds. “That hit the spot.” He rubbed his stomach. “Good gravy, I'm tired.”

“Yeah. You should get some sleep.” Isabella quietly said. To keep Phineas around any longer, as much as she wanted to, would be hard for him. _He'd stick around for me, too if I asked._

Phineas yawned as he waltzed slowly to the door. “Thanks for the meal, Isabella. Even if you made me work for it.”

“Would you say it's...” She tilted her head slightly as she stretched her arms out in front of her. “The second best thing you tasted tonight?”

Phineas sputtered at her newfound confidence. “Uh, yup.” He awkwardly peeped out. “I, uh- I'll- See you tomorrow, alright?” He quickly waved and slunk out the door, shutting it behind him and letting out a heavy breath.

“What- who- did I just get myself into?”

* * *

Ferb was already the boys' bedroom by the time Phineas, bedraggled, came through the door. Suddenly, a whistle went off, the lights flicked on, and confetti sprinkled overhead as a celebratory noise rang. “Oh, what now?” Phineas angrily asked.

Ferb and Candace were sitting on Ferb's bed, clapping. “Congratulations, Phineas. You finally went and did it!” Candace fell back on the bed, laughing maniacally. Ferb gave him a thumbs-up.

Phineas blushed furiously. “How do you- What do you know?”

“We-” Candace felt a harsh nudge from Ferb. “Sorry, I- kinda spied on you just now.” She shrugged as she got up from the bed, still giggling. She slapped Phineas heartily on the back. Phineas gagged.

Candace slipped out the door with a sly grin. “You can't blame me for being curious! Everyone is!”

Ferb nodded. Phineas rolled his eyes, put on some pajamas, and flopped onto his bed. He threw his covers over his body. The light clicked off and the two stared up at the ceiling.

“At this rate, we should sleep in tomorrow.” Ferb huffed.

“I agree with you there, bro.” Phineas laughed softly. “Here's to our troubles going away, eh?”

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is just over 10k, making it the largest chapter thus far! Had fun writing the fluff. As always, tell me what you think.**

**Next Time:**

**Portal-Jump!**

**The brothers fly close to the sun! The girls investigate under the town! Dr. D recruits a bodyguard!**


	13. Portal-Jumping!

**Responses:**

**AO3 Comments:**

**ThiaQuiche: Super glad you're enjoying the fic! Comedy really is subjective, though, right? One of my biggest thoughts when I read typical PnF fics is how little most focus on the comedy, when the show really is that at it's core. Not to say I don't love melodramatic Phinbella, but sticking drama and comedy in the same box is tons of fun. Personally, I think that this fic will probably pick up steam review-wise when it's finished, which should be done before the end of the year if I keep this pace up. I used to only read finished fics, so I'd bet most people do.**

**Fanfic Reviews:**

**Dr. Crow: Thanks for reviewing again!**

**Both (Apparently?):**

**Blazingen1: It's awesome that you're enjoying the story enough to re-read it. That's crazy. I hope that my characterization of Linda does not disappoint, even if I do kinda sideline her feelings about the boys. It does factor into the continuity issue: In this scenario, it doesn't make sense for her to be against the boys. Flint has been a joy to figure out, both because I know where he's ending up and I don't know EXACTLY how he's gonna get there.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Portal-Jump!**

* * *

“...And that's why Perry the Platypus has opposable thumbs.” Heinz, accompanied by Vanessa, shoved open the door to the Mayor's Office. It was his second day in office, and he had plenty of things on the agenda. The power and water were no longer issues, and the portal storms had been taken care of, but it was obvious someone or something was trying to sabotage the Danville Defense Grid. “Speaking of, I wonder if OWCA's gonna take any charge in this situation. I haven't heard a peep from them.”

As if to answer, a large table had been set up past the Defense Grid's cylinder. All manner of OWCA agents were twiddling their thumbs, waiting for Heinz to arrive. A floating monitor bearing the image of Major Monogram moved just inches from the tip of Doofenshmirtz' nose. “You're late, Heinz.” He chided.

“How can I be late? I'm the mayor now!” Heinz made stretched his arms out to his sides. “If anything, you're early!”

“Dad, I told you we were supposed to be here at 9.” Vanessa spoke up from behind him. Heinz rolled his eyes.

“Okay, new law. I come in when I like, capiche?”

“No. Not capiche. There are systems through which laws have to be passed.” Monogram sighed.

“Wait a second, systems? I've lived in the Tri-State Area my entire life and I have never once met one politician in charge of Danville that wasn't the mayor!” Heinz insisted, frustrated.

The OWCA agents all nodded in agreement, making their various animal noises. Monogram rolled his eyes and put his palm to his forehead. “I guess you're right.” He cleared his throat before taking out some notes and continuing. “Anyways, the OWCA is no longer undercover due to the events of the Second-Dimensional Crisis, so I thought that we might pitch in more publicly to help out. Agent P-” Perry waved. “-informed us of the mysterious shadowy figure that showed up here last night.”

“What the-?” Heinz threw his arms down and glared at Perry. “Perry the Platypus, have you been spying on me?”

Perry shrugged with a smirk.

* * *

Phineas adjusted the telescope slightly. He tugged on his older brother's shoulder slightly. “Right there, Ferb!” He clicked a button on the telescope and stood back to let Ferb take a look. Ferb turned back to Phineas with a confused expression.

“See? That's what I thought! That drone's been flying towards the sun for the last 5 minutes!”

Indeed, a small metallic drone had been flying upwards into the sky. At the angle the Flynn-Fletcher brothers chose, they were able to see it without much glare. Phineas shoved Ferb aside gently and peeked into the eyepiece. Suddenly, the drone disappeared as it made contact with the sun.

“Wow!” Phineas fell back, startled. “Ferb, I just learned two new things about the dimensional void! First, the sun is really, really close, and second, it apparently just makes stuff disappear instead of melting them... or burning them.” He rubbed his chin. “Who had the idea to run an experiment like that?”

He sat back behind his brother, putting his head beneath the shade of the roof. Then he noticed something peculiar.

His head wasn't cooler than the rest of his body.

* * *

“Hey, uh, Suze? You found anything yet?” Flint laid back lazily on the couch they had installed in their new headquarters. He scratched the side of his hip nonchalantly.

“Actually, Phin, you were right.” Suzanne turned around with excitement. Flint's expression became brighter and he peeked over the couch at the monitor that showed the camera feed from the drone. “It, uh, just looks like normal old Danville.”

Flint scrambled over the back of the couch, clambering towards the controls. “Let's pan around.” The two watched as the feed revealed a perfectly normal Tri-State Area. “Fascinating. Looks like the D-Bomb didn't affect every dimension. Just the one we used it in.”

“Are we really calling the explosion the D-Bomb?” Suzanne glared at Flint.

“Why is there a probl-” He paused. “Oh. We could call it the Dimenschplosion.”

“Too long. The Bomb!” Suzanne made jazz hands to accentuate the threat.

“Too inspecific. Void Bomb, perhaps.” Flint made a sweeping motion with his arm. Suzanne rubbed her arm.

“Sounds good. Void Bomb.”

“V-Bomb for short.”

“Now you're pushing it.” Suzanne monotonously huffed as she rolled her eyes. “More importantly, having access to another Danville is cool and all, but what's the use of it?”

“Okay, so yesterday afternoon, I was out getting some food from the convenience store.”

“This story better have some relevance.”

“Oh, trust me. It's, like, a whole flashback.”

* * *

Flint was in line at the store when an exhausted Roger Doofenshmirtz tumbled through the door. “Nasty, fickle people, my constituents.”

A man in line turned to him. “Former constituents. I heard the news a second ago. What's the opposite of a congratulations?”

“Condolences.” Roger huffed. “Even when all that crazy stuff with that other dimension was happening things weren't as bad as they are now.”

“I-I'm sorry to interrupt, but... Other dimension?” Flint had switched on his disguise kit, and was thus not easy to recognize as another Phineas.

“Oh, yeah. The invasion from the second dimension. Buncha kooks were out spouting stories about it a few summers ago. Robots attacked. Think it turned out to be some kind of super-villain thing.” The line-man replied.

“Oh, I assure you it was quite real. The super-villain explanation was contrived by the press to keep the citizenry from the panic that knowledge of a second dimension would create.” Roger had regained his breath. “I suppose now that I'm out of office it won't be classified.”

“So what? Was it, like, an evil Phineas Flynn?” Flint asked, bemused.

“Oh, heavens no!” Roger chuckled. “Why, there couldn't be a bad Phineas Flynn in the multiverse!”

Flint beamed to himself. Roger continued.

“I was actually the work of an extra-dimensional version of my own brother, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. You may know him for his various property-destroying gaffes.”

“So you're telling me there's a Heinz Doofenshmirtz in another dimension that's... Evil?” Flint asked. “Like, actually evil?”

“Diabolical!” Roger greatly exaggerated his tone.

Flint grinned. He knew what he was going to do today.

* * *

“So, uh, yeah. The portal storms are very quick to open and close, but I thought there might be a portal that stayed open all day. Hence, the sun.” Flint finished. Suzanne made an impressed expression and nodded. “Failing that, whatever's beneath the town.”

“So you want to recruit Doof-2.” She laughed. “What benefit could that doddering old fool give us?”

“Well, when he came over here he was a threat, right? So he must have been doing something right. But that's what's so strange about it. His Danville...” Flint paused to check the camera. “...Looks completely normal.”

“Well, Phineas and Ferb beat him last time. Maybe he had a dictatorship, lost it, and is now in prison.” Suzanne asserted. “We should check there first.”

* * *

“Good morning, Papa!” Isabella clambered down the stairs cheerily. She grabbed the end of the railing and swung herself into the kitchen. An unamused Joseph Garcia-Shapiro was sitting at the table, enjoying his morning coffee with the paper. She got into the fridge and started pulling out ingredients for omelets.

“It's Viv's turn to make breakfast, dear.” Joe looked up from his paper. “Yours is tomorrow.”

“I don't know, Papa. I'm just in a good mood.” She giggled. Joe put the paper down on the table and leaned back, putting his feet up on the edge. Vivian walked down the stairs. Joe put his feet down as quickly as he had put them up.

“Don't worry about breakfast. Bella's taking over.” Joseph gruffly turned back to his paper. Vivian smiled at her daughter. “Y'know, it kinda rubs me the wrong way that a paper even hit the doorstep this morning.”

“Ah, but Phineas and Ferb have been doing such a great job of bringing the town back into working order!” Vivian exclaimed. “Why, if I was their mother, I would be as proud as-” She stopped. “Something very proud.”

“Ha! Flynn almost collapsed under the weight of the whole thing!” Joseph chortled. “How'd he even manage to pull himself back? Kid was like one of my... Vet friends.”

Isabella whistled nonchalantly. Her father and mother slowly turned towards her. “Isabella, did you get up to something last night?” It wasn't so much a glare from her father as a curious confusion.

“Hey, Mama, what was it like when Papa first kissed you?” She asked sweetly.

Vivian, distracted, thought for a moment. “Well, we were watching the 4 th  of July fireworks from the roof of his house. We were smoking some-” Joseph quickly turned to her and made a cutting motion “-uh, salmon.” She corrected before continuing. “He turned to me and he said something. Not really sure. And then we kissed and that was it.”

Joseph huffed. “You don't remember what I said?”

“Do you?”

He looked down at the paper blankly. “No, I suppose it has been almost 16 years.”

Isabella put the omelets on some plates and served them to her parents, who were now both seated, deep in thought. “I sure hope Phineas doesn't forget.” Isabella joked.

“Well, honey, you're usually so nervous as a man that-” Joseph spat his coffee. “Oh.”

* * *

“Well, Perry the Platypus, it's obvious that since that... Shadowy... Ferb broke in here last night, what we're going to need some serious security measures.” Heinz paced around the room, followed closely by a flank of animal agents who moved perfectly in time with him. He turned around, facing all the agents.

“What are you-? What are you doing?”

Major Monogram's monitor-gram floated passive-aggressively as he huffed. “We have no clue what attacked last night, or for that matter what kind of danger you're in... Sir.” He added, struggling to get out the last bit. “It would be best if we just assigned all the inactive animal agents to guarding you, since they have nothing better to do.”

“And, uh, how many are...”

“Inactive? All of them.” Monogram matter-of-factually stated. “So, congratulations. You are the most secure man in the Tri-State Area.”

“I-” Heinz stammered in indignation. “I can understand the need to have a bodyguard, but a whole army? Of animal bodyguards? What kind of example does that set to the people? That I have a bunch of trained platypi, and cats, and dogs, and...” He scanned the crowd. “...Iguanas?”

“Sir,” Monogram could almost taste the venom in his mouth. “It's going to be especially necessary now that the Tri-State Area has consistent leadership. I don't want you in any danger, professionally speaking.”

Heinz rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. I can cook up something in an hour that will out-defend all the animal agents in the world.” He motioned to his crowd of followers as he headed out the door towards DEI.

* * *

Candace and Linda opened the window from the boys' room to walk out onto the balcony where the telescope-ing teenagers were situated. “hey, Mom. Candace. Taking a break from all this world-saving to watch the skies.”

“About that-” Linda nervously sighed. “World-saving.” She huffed as she took a seat next to Ferb. “I've done a lot of thinking, and Candace kind of led me to the conclusion that...”

Phineas and Ferb turned away from the drone they were assembling to face her.

“...You guys are doing exactly what you ought to be. I can't say I'm not afraid for you, but I know you too have good heads on your shoulders.” Linda finished, standing up. “I'll be here to back you two with whatever I can.”

“You already have been.” Phineas smiled at her.

Their moment of silence was broken by a familiar sound from beneath them. “HEY! Phineas! And the rest of your family, apparently! Whatcha doin?”

Candace glanced around. “Hey, where's Dad?”

Isabella was standing on the grass beneath them, wearing her Fireside Girls gear. Phineas glanced down at her and waved. “Oh, hi, Isabella! Ferb and I are making a drone to fly into the sun!”

Isabella let her arms flop down to her sides, but Candace was the one to ask. “Why in the heck would you want to do that?”

“We had finished watching a drone fly into the sun, and then my head moved into a shadow. I realized that the temperature of my head didn't reduce! So the sun isn't the source of heat! I think that the sun is actually some kind of portal, like the ones that open up to rain stuff down on us at night.” Phineas held up a blueprint excitedly. “So we made a drone for exploration! It's gonna get us a camera feed from whatever's up there. Even has a microphone for communication with whatever's on the other side!” His eyes sparkled with ingenuity.

Isabella grinned up at him slyly. “Phineas Flynn, I would, and have, followed you to the ends of the earth, but that's ridiculous! The portals probably whatever's causing all this gravity beneath us!”

“When have I ever been wrong, Isabella?”

“Practically the whole last week. Got it right yesterday. And _last night_.” Isabella flirtatiously giggled.

Linda gave Candace a concerned look. “He kissed her.” Candace quickly specified. Linda sighed relief and ducked back through the window.

Phineas blushed and glanced up at Candace. “Well, you don't have to go telling everybody.”

“That's my job.” Isabella proudly pointed to herself.

Phineas became as red as a tomato before he looked away from her and back at the telescope. Ferb snicked, punching him lightly on the shoulder. A tiny light bulb went off in Ferb's head.

“If you're so sure Phineas is wrong, how about a bet, Isabella?” Ferb leaned over the balcony to face her.

“What kinda bet?”

“Well, if Phineas is right and the portal's up there... You have to cook lunch for us for the rest of the week. And if you're right and the portal's down there... Phineas will do whatever you want tomorrow.” Phineas socked him on the shoulder, but he just chuckled, got up, and gave Isabella a questioning wave of his hand.

“Stakes seem kind of unbalanced.” Isabella muttered.

“Only if you're unsure that you're right.” Ferb self-importantly stated, hands on his hips.

“Alright then, deal!” Isabella eagerly left to find the Fireside Girls.

Ferb picked up the drone, started the motor, handed his brother the controls, and hucked it into the air.

Phineas groaned, holding his head with one hand. “I don't know why everyone's making such a big deal out of this...”

* * *

Flint's drone had arrived at the site of the Tri-State Correctional Facility, but a few differences were immediately present. “Firestorm Penitentiary?” Luckily, he had prepared for such an even, clicking a button to transform the floating drone's hovering rotors into spider-like legs. The legs crawled through a vent on the floor.

Suzanne and Flint navigated through the dark vents, bumping and scraping against the sides along the way. “So you didn't think to install, like, a light on our exploration vessel?” Suzanne mused, chewing a chocolate bar.

“No comment.” Flint nervously shot back.

The creature climbed out into what was very small detention block. There were only 3 cells, and 1 of them was empty. The first was occupied by a woman in a green button-up, whom Flint recognized as Doofenshmirtz' ex-wife, Charlene. She glanced at the spider drone with some interest. “HEINZ!” She whispered harshly as she knocked on the wall. The spider drone passed the cell to look at the third one, containing a slightly different Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

He was on his back, whistling up at the wall nonchalantly. The spider drone tapped on the side of the cell and crawled through, jumping up on the cot that he was resting on. “Well, hello, little fellow! What are you doing in here?”

The crackling of radio static came through as the microphone established a connection between the two universes. “Looking for you, Dr. D. We need your help!”

“Help? I don't know where you think you are, kiddo, but this isn't the kind of place you end up if you're looking to 'help'.” The Heinz surrounded 'help' with air quotes. The two teenagers on the other end quickly noticed his eyepatch, and the scar that went over it.

“And how did you end up here?” The Suzanne's voice questioned through the drone. “We were led to believe you were some extra-dimensional bigshot!”

“Extra-dimensional? Di-did you kids come from that other dimension?” Heinz asked, curiously. “Does that mean a portal's open?”

“Yeah, but we have no idea how long it lasts. Point is, we came here looking for someone that hates Danville prime!”

“Hold on a second. Prime? What makes you think the Danville I tried to take over is the 'prime' Danville?”

“Well, we're from another dimension, too. We had an accident with a dimension-traveling device, and ended up there. Kinda seems like a nexus point, of sorts. 'All roads lead to Danville Prime', and so forth.” Flint scratched the back of his neck. This was not visible on the other end.

“So... what do you want from me?”

Suzanne grabbed the microphone from Flint and leaned in. “We want you to help us destroy Danville Prime!”

Heinz sat up, putting chin in his hands. “Alright, you have my attention. Who are you two?”

“I'm Phineas Flynn-Fletcher, and this is-” Flint said.

“Suzanne Garcia-Johnson.” Suzanne finished for him.

The Heinz jolted up in his seat. “Phineas Fletcher! But you put me in here in the first place!”

“Oh, no, no, no. I'm not the Phineas Fletcher who put you away. I'm the Phineas Fletcher who's gonna get you out!” Flint's drone extended a claw into it's own back, producing a small black box. He slapped it onto the side of the cell. “Stand back, Doctor Twofenshmirtz!”

Suzanne giggled slightly as Heinz threw his cot to the side and hid behind it. A small explosion rocked the cell block, throwing the cell doors off their hinges and out into the hallway.

“That is a fancy little device there, kid. Nickname not withstanding, I am grateful for your assistance. In exchange for this new freedom... I think I'll take you up on the offer.” He stepped out of his cell, stretching his limbs and yawning. He turned to Charlene's cell. “I'll be back for you later, dear. That is, if you didn't bring a second explosive, Tiny... Spider... Infiltratorinator.”

“This dude forgot the headlight. I'm surprised he had ONE explosive.” Suzanne's voice crackled through the tiny speaker. Suddenly, two teenage girls rounded the corner, dressed in camouflaged fatigues. “Woah! Those look like my girls back home! Hey, Millie! Hey, Katie!”

Millie and Katie were about to unleash a smackdown of epic proportions on the newly un-caged Heinz Twofenshmirtz, but they stopped when they heard the familiar voice. “Isabella?” Katie asked. There was a period of silence from the drone on the ground.

“Yes!” It chirped. “Katie, Millie, I order you two to stand down! We're moving the good Doctor to a top-secret location.”

“Uhhh... Okay.” Katie huffed. Dr. D walked right past them, drone in tow. Once they were out of ear-and-eyeshot, Heinz gave the drone camera a thumbs-up.

“You two continue to impress. Phineas, have you ever considered a career in evil science? Suzanne would make a good hench.”

“I'm nobody's hench.” Suzanne grumbled. “We're separate equals.”

“I have, sir.” Flint chuckled. “In fact, I was studying under D-Prime before we found out about you.”

“D-Prime?” Suzanne could be heard in the background, confused.

“Doofenshmirtz Prime, little girl. Keep up.” Dr. T strolled out of the building. He took his first breath of fresh air in months, cracked his fingers and his neck, and looked towards the center of town. “So, why not follow me to my old lair? We can discuss the nature of our collaboration.”

“This guy kinda rubs me the wrong way.” Suzanne whispered.

Flint shrugged. “C'mon, that's only because he's making fun of you.”

She stared at him silently for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the monitor. “Uh, yeah.” She muttered, crossing her arms. “Usually I get more respect.”

* * *

Gretchen't had been having a rough few days. Sitting in the sewer base that had been established for her and Suzanne, she ruminated on recent events. The combination of being out of place, losing her best friend, and being distrusted by all of the people who should have been her allies was really grating on her psyche.

So imagine her surprise when Isabella, the leader of the Danville Fireside Girl troop, threw her a backpack. “Get up.” She leaned against the wall. “You've been here for days and you haven't tried anything. Obviously the other girls don't trust you. I haven't been around much, and long story short, I've wanted to give you a chance.”

Gretchen't tenuously got up from her seat in front of the TV. She smiled nervously at Isabella. “Gee, Chief...” She scratched the back of her head. “Thanks.” She picked up the bag. “I would love to come with you guys.”

Isabella grinned as she walked out. “And if you're good, we can get you some air freshener.” Gretchen't laughed. Yes, living in a sewer did literally stink.

“But, uh, wait a second. What are we doing?”

“Falling off the edge of the earth, Gretch. It's like reverse mountain-climbing.” Isabella chuckled from down the hall.

“Oh. S-sounds great.” Gretchen't threw on her Fireside Girls vest over her t-shirt just to nervously tug at the collar. She grabbed her beret and scuttled after her new boss excitedly.

* * *

Baljeet busied himself setting up a base camp for the girls' expedition, and Buford begrudgingly tagged along. Buford had been pounding stakes into the ground from which to dangle the climbers, and Baljeet had been putting together some tracking harnesses, attaching long metallic cables to them in the case the girls needed to quickly be pulled up.

“So, Ginger put you up to this?” Buford dryly suggested as he slammed his hammer down with enough force to pound the long silver stake firmly into the dirt.

“What put you under that impression?” Baljeet asked, dropping his tools momentarily.

“Well, for one you aren't crying and moaning.”

Baljeet rolled his eyes in response. “I am sorry if my mood has improved.” He sarcastically added.

Buford dusted off his hands as the girls arrived in their heat-suits. “Woah, woah, what's the deal with the hazard suits? Should I be nervous?” He put his hands up defensively and glanced around nervously.

“Chill out, Buford.” Addyson huffed. “Isabella just thought that there's a possibility that going down there is dangerous. This is just to make sure we don't melt or get cancer or something.”

“Actually, it was Gretchen't that brought up the possibility.” Isabella's voice came through muffled as she pointed to the girl, who was in the back of the line, following nervously in a bright red heat-suit.

“Nonetheless, we are ready to go up here!” Baljeet chirped. He handed Ginger (Or at least who he thought was Ginger under the bulky suits) a harness. The only girls with unique suits were Gretchen't and Isabella, who wore a pink suit that Phineas and Ferb had made for her. The other girls wore a bright yellow. The suit produced two pickaxes from a pack and slipped them into the utility belt on the harness.

“Thanks for getting this ready, Baljeet!” Her voice confirmed it was indeed Ginger. She wrapped the harness around herself and stepped towards the edge. She looked back at him. “You got tracking and comms up?” He nodded a yes.

“Alrighty then.” She gave a thumbs-up and began to climb down the ledge, digging her boots into the dirt, beginning to climb down with the pickaxes.

“Careful!” Isabella yelled after her, grabbing her own pickaxes, slipping a harness on, and clambering off the ledge after her in a swift motion. “Buford, make sure that those poles stay in the dirt! In the case of a communications failure, we'll tug on the ropes three times, then you pull us up!”

Buford noted all of the information that was dumped on him. “Alright, alright. Safety first! Whatever!” He waved off the girls as they climbed down.

Everybody was well on their way down the edge of the world. The inward incline made the climb complex on the way down, but the boots and axes they used made it pretty safe to head down. It would be easier on the return trip, especially with the lengthy cables.

“Hey, 'Jeet. Why aren't I down there? It looks like fun.”

“Isabella just told you to watch the cables.” Baljeet sat down with his laptop, sighing.

“Yeah, but you could do that.” Buford began to search around for an extra harness, finding one quickly. “Here, help me hook up.”

“Buford, there's no way I can pull the girls up if it comes down to it, let alone you!” Baljeet spat in frustration.

“You ever notice we're not doing anything fun anymore?” Buford sat down on his butt with a huff.

* * *

“Woah, Ferb!” Phineas got his brother, who had previously not been paying attention, to pay attention. He waved the remote's monitor in Ferb's face. Ferb squinted his eyes and batted Phineas' arm away lightly. “Finally! The drone reached the sun, and I was right!”

“Excellent. Call Isabella. I'm hungry.” Ferb yawned. He grabbed the monitor from Phineas and took a look around. He tapped the monitor as the drone looked behind the two.

“Night's going to fall sooner than later, so I should give her a call. Could be dangerous down there after dark.” Phineas turned his attention back to the monitor. “Interesting...” Phineas leaned in to inspect the area they had come from. There was no evidence of a portal having been opened. “I guess it's a one-way street.” He thought for a second. “Looks like it was a bad idea to send someone up, after all.”

The drone camera panned around what looked like a perfectly normal Danville. “This looks like a perfectly normal Danville.” Phineas noted. He could tell, however, from the area having a population that it wasn't his Danville. The drone flew over the park. “Ferb, you have a theory as to where that other drone went?” He asked.

Ferb shrugged lazily in response.

“You're right, we're not gonna catch it. Might as well see if we can find a version of us. Maybe we can just bail ourselves out of our current... Predicament.”

The two set off looking for themselves, but were interrupted by a static crackling on the monitor. Phineas peered down in curiosity, realizing the connection to the drone had been cut, or was at least having problems. “Say, Ferb, if the portal's up there, what do you suppose Isabella is going to run into?”

Their eyes simultaneously widened in sudden fear.

* * *

Flint carefully tuned a knob on the small machine he had thus far assembled. Attached was a radio antenna, a power supply, a speaker, a microphone, and a panel that showed a frequency reading. On the other end, Doofenshmirtz-2 was tuning his. The static made it hard to hear, but they managed to get his next instructions. “Set it to 16.4 on your end, then start up the micro-portal generator.” Heinz instructed. Flint flicked a switch on the side of the console, and a shrill feedback wave emanated throughout both of their lairs. Suzanne sat up on the couch with a yelp.

Heinz held up a hand, and everyone fell silent. He tapped the microphone on his end. A bassy thumping noise came through clearly on Flint and Suzanne's side. The two beamed at each other, just as the drone lost connection completely. “Brilliant work, doc! Now, if the two dimensions lose connection, we'll still be able to communicate!”

“And the odds are, that happens soon. We're already having connection issues with the drone.” Heinz flatly stated, immediately going to work on his drawing board, sketching blueprints for a second device. “That micro-portal is low power, and therefore low-size, but we can transmit any wireless signals we need through it. Apparently at a decent speed, to boot. How about an inter-dimensional fax machine before we ramp up?”

“Why a fax machine?” Suzanne questioned. “Why not just get a video chat, or a imageboard?”

“Because,” Doof-2 rolled his eyes, “Fax machines barely require any bandwidth on a connection of this kind. Computer networks will take significantly more work, because, apparently, this portal's already closed. Phineas, educate your woman.”

Flint stifled a laugh, earning a glare from Suzanne. “S-she's good at other stuff, doc. Just wait until it gets to the fighting part.” He chuckled softly. “But yeah, he's right. I'm gonna go dig around our Heinz' things and see if I can't rustle up a fax machine.”

* * *

“H-Hey! Woah!” Heinz stumbled through a bunch of his entourage as he attempted to enter his apartment. He walked over to his closet, which he hadn't opened since the Void Bomb had dropped. He motioned to all of his animal agents. “In order to prove to you, agents of OWCA, that I do not need your help, I am going to design my own defense-inator.”

He flung open the empty closet.

“Empty closet? That can't be right! Where's my -inator parts? My magazines? My fax machine?” He exclaimed, to nobody in particular. Flint and Suzanne had laid it bare, although Heinz had no way of knowing it. “It's been laid bare! I-I just have no idea who could have done this!” He glared at his bodyguards with suspicion. They all shrugged and frowned.

“You know what? I'm going to go ask Phineas and Ferb for help. Yeah. That's what I'm going to do.”

* * *

Isabella was caught off guard by a sudden ringing in her cell phone, nearly dropping her pickaxe in shock. She put her ax in her tool belt, making a fist to motion the other girls to a stop. Glaring at the phone, she realized it was Phineas.

_Who knew what she was doing right now was dangerous._

Nonetheless, she answered. “What?” She asked, in a harsh, annoyed tone. “Were you guys right?”

“I...sa... Sit's gonna be dark... There's...” The crackling static indicated that whatever the edge of the world was, it sure did a number on communications.

The girls all looked over their shoulders. Phineas had probably called them to warn them about the impending nightfall.

“Wait a second...” Gretchen looked at Isabella. “Is it just me, or did that happen really fast? I thought it was only afternoon.”

“And for that matter,” Gretchen't cut in, “We don't want to be caught in a portal storm dangling who-knows-how-high up in space.”

“Darn!” Isabella huffed. “We're right at the bottom, too. Another day, then, girls.” She looked back up at her companions as they stared at her in shock. She surveyed their faces.

They weren't looking at her.

“Isabella! Behind you!” Ginger shouted, tugging on her rope. Isabella glanced over her shoulder to see a dark, inky figure scaling the wall at a terrifying speed. Her eyes widened as it approached.

“ACK!” Isabella threw her pickaxe at the creature. He looked up at her, revealing it's sickening white eyes and determined expression. “It's that- that thing!” She felt the rope begin to tug her up. Behind the creature, the climbing party watched as a strange black hole expanded beneath Danville, emanating a red glow that cast over the side of the city. The shadows of their footholds stretched against the dim light.

“Thank God! Everyone, tug your ropes so Buford and Baljeet know to bail us out!” Ginger commanded. The others followed suit. Gretchen't, however, looked on in a mixture of horror and curiosity at the figure, who had now gotten up to Isabella's height. Addyson swung in and grabbed her rope, gathering all the girls' ropes into one place. The girls clung to each other as they reached out to Isabella, who was quickly raising. Surprisingly, the combined strength of Buford and Baljeet seemed to be dragging them up, albeit at a reduced speed.

Isabella kicked the Shadow Ferb's head as it grasped her foot. His grasp weakened slightly, and his expression became annoyed. Suddenly, another shadow leaped from the side of Danville. Addyson reacted quickly, stiff-arming it.

“P-Perry?” She stuttered out. Indeed, the creature was shaped like the Flynn-Fletcher pet. It growled at her as it fell onto the Shadow Ferb's head, finally loosing his grasp and sending the two plummeting out into space. The Shadow Ferb crossed his arms and gave Shadow Perry a disappointing look before the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“P-P-P-Perry. And...” Gretchen't sputtered, slowly. “Ferb. That's... Ferb.”

“What are you on about, faker?” Addyson hissed. Isabella shot Addyson a glare.

“Our... My... Ferb.”

* * *

“Good Gravy!” Baljeet eked out as he struggled against the rope. Buford tugged at it with all his might.

“What is Isabella eating these days, Jeet?” He managed to gasp out. Sweat poured from their bodies as they put all their combined strength (A lot more of it Buford's) into bringing up the rope.

“I think the others are trying to grab onto her! That means trouble!” Baljeet grimaced. The thought of the Fireside Girls, let alone Ginger, in danger down there was enough to terrify. He planted his feet firmly in the ground and began to tug faster.

Buford looked on in fascination at his friend's sudden burst of physical prowess. He whistled softly as he resumed the work of bringing his friends up. With one final yank, Baljeet fell backwards as the girls grabbed the ledge. Baljeet heaved in and out like he was dying as he spread his arms out on the pavement.

The girls all clambered back up on the ledge, scuttling under the safety of the base camp's tents, teeth chattering in fear. All except for Isabella, that was. She helped Baljeet up and gave Buford a concerned look.

“I-I've never seen him pull anything like that before.” Buford shrugged defensively. “Literally and figuratively.” Isabella seemed satisfied.

Suddenly, the group heard a car pull into the lot. Glancing behind the base camp, they were surprised to see Phineas and Ferb hopping out of the purple convertible. Phineas dashed over to Isabella and wrapped her up in a big bear hug, spinning her around before setting her down. “Oh, thank God you're alright!”

“All of you.” Ferb added. Phineas turned to the group and smiled warmly, rubbing his hands together.

“And what's better is that we know who's cooking dinner tonight.” Phineas grinned mischievously. “We had a little bet with Isabella this morning that there would be a portal up in the sun, and we were right!”

“Gee, now you're excited about the bet?” Isabella crossed her arms. “I'll have you know that we discovered a portal of our own down there! It's where those weird purple clones are coming from! So there!” She put her finger firmly on Phineas' chest as she stood on her toes to get up to his face level.

“So... No dinner?” Phineas glumly frowned.

“And, unfortunately, I don't get to boss you around.” Isabella huffed, standing back onto her heels. Gretchen, behind them, was deep in thought.

“Chief? That's not the case.” She smirked. “You were both right. You both won.”

“WHAT?” The two shrieked in unison. The crowd stared at them, sharing a laugh.

“I guess neither of us are winning.” Phineas rubbed the back of his head. “I'll, uh, help with dinner if you like. Consider it an early start.” Isabella obliged him, grabbing Phineas by the hand and yanking him away from the crowd, quickly picking up a decent pace.

“First come, first serve, ladies and gentlemen!” Isabella yelled out as the two ran off into the lot.

“Seems like I'm winning.” Ferb smugly muttered to himself as got to his feet.

Then he heard his car start. His eye twitched slightly.

“PHINEAAAAAS!” He belted, louder than anyone had ever heard him before. He sprinted after the convertible at a frightening speed as the others looked on in fascinated shock. The convertible peeled out as Phineas and Isabella laughed maniacally. Ferb couldn't quite catch them, but the three disappeared together all the same.

“I've never seen him go that fast.” Buford frowned.

“I've never heard him yell that loud.” Baljeet frowned.

“Man, Ferb has some really nice hams.” Addyson frowned. The others stared at her. “What?” She shrugged. “We were all thinking it.” The girls slowly looked at each other and nodded in agreement, a small murmur rising from the group. One of the girls, however, couldn't be less interested in Ferb's really nice hams.

Ginger wrapped her hand around Baljeet's quickly, leaning in to whisper. “It was really impressive how you managed to pull us up. Don't know where we'd be without you.” She kissed him softly on the cheek as he blushed.

“Dead!” He sputtered nervously. “You would have died!”

“I'll, uh, take that as concern.” Ginger pulled back as she awkwardly frowned, rubbing the back of her neck. Baljeet was as stiff as a statue, so she released him and carried on with the other girls as they started to walk home.

Buford and Baljeet stood in silence for a few moments.

“You totally beefed that, dude.” Buford said.

“I KNOW!” Baljeet burst at him, glaring intensely. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

“Hey, woah, man. Don't get down about it.” He patted Baljeet on the back. “I guess you just have a worse understanding of women than, say, Phineas Flynn.”

Baljeet angrily tackled Buford to the ground, pinning him to the asphalt. Buford laughed heartily. “Okay! Okay! I deserved that.”

Baljeet pulled Buford up, satisfied. The two dusted themselves off as they headed home. Buford turned to his friend, who had calmed down. “You know, I don't really have a girl I'm interested in right now, so you've gotta nail this Ginger thing down for the both of us!” He grinned.

Baljeet gave him a strange look. “Please, never say anything like that ever again.” He flatly stated.

Suddenly, behind the two, the earth began to shake. “Uh, guys?” Buford looked out towards where his friends had headed. They were alone. Buford and Baljeet stiffened as they glanced at the floor beneath them in fear as a purple hand shot out of the ground, surrounded by glowing red light.

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz was more or less wandering around town as night fell. He had heard from Vanessa that Ferb was going to be at the Fireside Girls' base camp for their expedition to the bottom of Danville. The animals shuffled behind him nervously as the Defense Grid rose behind them, whirring to life. “Hello! Ferb? Phineas?” He called out into the night.

His head snapped to attention as he heard a rough scream in the distance. He motioned back to his unwanted comrades. “Animal agents! That guy needs help!” He pointed off in the direction of the screaming and ran, the agents quickly following.

Buford and Baljeet were punching and kicking out at a group of purple, shadowy people, surprisingly with great success. They disappeared in smoke as soon as they hit the ground. Buford grabbed Baljeet and yanked him down the street. They were surrounded on all sides by what must have been a hundred inky creatures. “Oh, man! They forgot about us so hard that we might die for it!” He clutched his friend in fear.

“T-to be fair, we walk home together a lot.” Baljeet squeaked. “Discussing, uh, girls and such.”

Suddenly, the OWCA agents launched into action, slapping and slamming shadow creatures with all manner of animal-themed judo maneuver. In seconds, the crowd had thinned. The other creatures let out inhuman shrieks before jumping back into the ground.

“T-they came out of the dirt!” Buford explained, pale in the face. “It's not just an evil Ferb or an evil Perry! It's an army!”

“An Army of Darkness?” Heinz appeared deep in thought, perking up quickly. “Wow, how cool is that?”

“Not for us!” Baljeet was nearly sobbing. Buford patted him on the head reassuringly.

“There, there, buddy. We've all been through a lot today.”

“Well on the bright side,” Heinz started, turning to face the animal agents. “We know these things aren't after me, specifically! They're more like an aimless, malevolent force that could try to kill...” He stopped for a moment. “...Any...one.” He finished slowly.

The animal agents' recoiled in shock before they quickly scattered to check on their host families. Heinz yelled out after them.

“Yeah! Excellent idea, agents! Let's abandon our dear leader in his time of need!” He screamed, indignantly. Perry tugged on his pant leg. “Oh, Perry the Platypus? You don't want to abandon me?”

Perry chattered.

“Yeah, you're probably right. The boys can take care of themselves.” Heinz picked Perry up, removing his hat and patting him softly on the head. Perry purred contentedly.

The trio of humans and their platypus companion headed back into town, exhausted from the day. “Heinz- uh, Mayor Doofenshmirtz, do you think you might put together some kind of neighborhood watch or nighttime peacekeeping force with the animal... Agents?” Baljeet suggested.

“That ain't a half bad idea, kid.” Heinz put his arms behind his back. Perry nodded in agreement, even as he kept watch over them. “You, however...” Heinz ticked the bill of his new ally, “You and I are gonna stick together.” Perry gave a toothy grin and a thumbs-up from his position beneath Doofenshmirtz' arm.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella tumbled, giggling like children, out of Ferb's car as it came to a halt in front of the Flynn-Fletcher residence. Phineas was red in the face, wheezing with laughter. “Gosh! Did you see how mad Ferb got?” Lying on the grass, he turned to Isabella, who was herself struggling to breathe.

“See it? I heard it!” She turned over onto her stomach and grinned at him. Phineas' nose was just barely touching hers, and she could stay like that forever.

Phineas almost agreed, but his stomach was rumbling. “Gee. Being so smart and right all the time is hard work.”

Isabella felt her own growling. “So you're saying I have it tough?”

Phineas got up and grabbed her by the hand, helping her to her feet lightly. His face was the definition of blissful. “Yeah. I guess so.” He kept his eyes locked on her as they strolled into the house. He suddenly broke his stare, looking upstairs. The lights were dim, but still on.

“Hey, uh, Mom? Dad? Can we get the gang together for dinner in the backyard?” Phineas asked. All he got in return were grumbles.

“I've gotta get out of here...” He heard Candace mumble from her room.

“So, Phineas. Watcha cookin?” Isabella coyly tilted her head.

“Wha- what are we cooking, more like? You know I burn eggs.” Phineas mumbled indignantly. He rifled through the fridge for a moment. “Got anything for chicken in the pantry?”

Isabella stood up on her toes to reach up to the top shelf, producing some panko flakes. “We could pan-fry some chicken. Simple. Fast.”

“Delicious?” Phineas raised an eyebrow.

“It's okay. I'm most excited...” Isabella casually slipped an arm over her boyfriend's shoulder. His neck tensed. “About dessert.”

 _No subtlety on this girl._ Phineas thought. _Wow, how did I miss this for so long, again?_ He mentally thunked himself on the head. His heartbeat steadied as Isabella let him go.

“I never could have imagined you would be so nervous about all this romance stuff, Flynn.” She noted, still smiling. “I could get used to pushing your buttons.”

“I- I can be flirtatious.” He ran his hand through his hair. “D-demanding. I think. If you want.”

“I guess my active imagination did give me a headstart.” She huffed humorously. “Never imagined the only time we would get alone would be over food.” She suddenly felt Phineas grab her by the waist, pulling her in tightly. “Woah.”

“Hey, hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves.” Phineas stroked her hair lightly. “I can handle anything the world throws at me. Romance is just another challenge to overcome.”

“It's that mindset that's gonna kill you one day, Phin.” She dreamily sighed. Phineas was unsure of how to follow that up. She perked up as she quickly corrected herself. “Uh, it's kinda what made me like you so much in the first place.”

“That's better.” Phineas grinned. “You know, when I was faced with the perilous thought of your death in the dark underneath Danville, and the implication of living in a world without you, I realized something myself.”

“And what was that?” Isabella stood up on her toes to more directly stare him in the face. He was probably going to go for a kiss.

Phineas nervously wrapped his free hand around her head, pulling her in. “I kinda love you.”

It was Isabella's turn to freeze. Her mouth dried up. Instead of puckering up, she basically just smashed her face into his.

“Oh! Ouch!” Phineas pulled away from her. “I think my lip's busted.” He quickly took his hands off of her and put a finger up to his lips, checking for blood. “Oh, great. I'm fine.”

Isabella was still as stiff as a board.

“Uh, Isabella? Are you fine?”

“I- uh, yeah.” Isabella came to her senses as quickly as she lost them. “Uh, dinner, right?”

“Yeah.” Phineas stood back up, speaking slowly. “Dinner.”

The two cooked in silence for a minute or two before Phineas had enough of the tension. “Enough of this.” He leaned up against the stove, trying his hardest to maintain a casual air. “What's got you so bothered?”

“It's just-” Isabella's eyes moistened a bit. “You moved really quickly on that.”

“Hey! Hey!” Phineas wrapped her in an assuring hug. “Deep down, you know I've always looked out for you. You look out for me. That's what love is, right?”

Isabella was nearly crying now. “Phin- You just- I don't understand how you can be so perfect. Honest. All the time. And I'm- I'm like-”

Phineas tightened the embrace as he felt the tears run down her face and into her chest. “Isabella, I'm not always honest! The pressure of this whole situation is killing me! Heck, you almost make me feel bad with how much I've leaned on you these past few days.” He put his arms on her shoulders and pushed her away, putting his hand under her chin and guiding her eyes to his. “I think you're right: I don't handle everything the world throws at me.”

Isabella sniffled a bit. “R-really?”

Phineas chuckled under his breath. “We do.”

She leaned her face back into his chest as she began to cry some more. He couldn't help but cry a little himself, seeing her this way. _I didn't realize that she felt inferior to me._ He looked down at her raven hair. Even in tears, she seemed perfect to him. _How could I have known?_

The door creaked open, revealing a very miffed Ferb. Phineas quickly shushed him and waved him away. Ferb glared, but seeing the situation, shut the door softly and walked away. Dinner could wait.

* * *

“Ah!” Flint ripped a piece of paper out of the newly-minted Inter-Dimensional Fax-inator. It was a little note that read 'Hello, World!'. Suzanne had fallen soundly asleep on her cot in boredom. Her snores gave it away. Flint grinned down at the paper, laughing softly, but maliciously as he flopped onto his cot. He pushed his fingers together as he chortled in maniacal silence. “Those idiots won't know what hit 'em. I know I say this a lot, but for real this time. Idiots. Hitting them. Not knowing.”

Suzanne turned over in her cot to face Flint, who was surprised. “Y'think we'll have to send assistance his way at some point? The Firestorm Girls are obviously gonna figure out he's gone, and then he's gonna be... On the lam. Or something.”

“Fair point.” Flint pulled up his covers as he wrapped himself in a little blanket burrito. “We'll worry about it tomorrow.”

* * *

**A/N: Shoutout to Elrax for being my beta reader on this project, they're great. This chapter was fully written for like 3 days, but I kept making little adjustments until I had added an entirely new plot and a bunch of little character interactions. Loving the writing process right now, kinda on fire for it, even. As always, read and review! It feels good to know people enjoy the work!**

**Next Time:**

**Candace Checks Out**

**House-shopping! Dam-building! Shadowy secrets exposed to the light of truth!**


	14. Candace Checks Out

**A/N: Wow, it's been a month and a half since the last chapter? Sorry for the long wait, school is pretty tough, considering covid and work and all that. I actually finished the last 5 pages or so in 3 nights since my finals got in. I don't want to promise anything but I would wager the next chapter doesn't take this long. Shoutouts to Elrax for the proofreading on this chapter.**

**Responses:**

**Fanfiction:**

**ArendAlphaEagle: Yeah, uh, I swear Milo's around. I primarily made him relevant in the first place because of the Void Bomb.**

**AO3:**

**The_Sentient_Duck: Thanks! I personally think a series can both be lighthearted fun and have some serious dramatic stakes. I have to restrain myself from getting too fluffy now that the ships are actually happening, too, and keep that focused on being funny.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Candace Checks Out**

* * *

It was 8:20 in the morning, and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro had just finished doing her hair for the day. She strolled casually down the stairs, yawning as she swung around the railing to greet her father in the kitchen, who was already poring over some pancakes. From the smell of them, they might have been on the stove for a bit long.

“G'mornin, Daddy.” She mumbled, taking her seat. “Coffee ready?”

“Don't swing on the newel, dear. You'll break it.” Joseph grumbled, grabbing the coffee cup and pouring him and his daughter a mug. “Viv was up early for some thing at the mall with her band. So...”

He set the plates down in front of him and Isabella, straddling his chair as he put his elbows on the table. “It's just you and I this morning.” He glanced up at the wall. “You, uh, seemed a bit roughed up last night.”

“Oh!” Isabella perked up. “You saw that. It's not what you might think. I'm fine.”

“If you say so.” Joseph leaned forward just a bit, poking at the pancakes. “Man, I'm not good at these, am I?” He added under his breath.

“I'm actually doing great right now.” Isabella continued, unprompted. “The girls are doing fine, we're all making good progress on figuring out what's going on with Danville.”

“And Phineas?” Joseph crunched through a mouthful of panned cake.

“Perfect.” Her expression was still happy, but there was a tint of gloom to her. Joe tried not to show the concern he was feeling. Instead, he decided to drop the subject.

“So what are you planning on doing today, Bella?” He leaned back to sip his coffee as he finished his meal.

“Phineas-” Isabella started. Joseph lurched back in his seat. “Phineas and I are just going to spend a day together.” Relief washed over him and he quickly set his chair back on four legs. “Ferb made this bet with me, it was a whole thing, but long story short, we both won. So now I have to cook all week, and Phineas has to do whatever I want today.”

“Odd bet. There's no risk to Ferb.” Joseph got up, crunching his paper into a ball and tossing it in the recycling.

Isabella laughed as she got up from the table and headed towards the door. “That's what I said. Anyways, I'm gonna probably have to drag him over here.” She opened the door, and to her surprise Phineas was already there, reaching for the doorbell. He quickly put his arms behind his back and smiled.

“Uh, good morning, Isa.” He glanced up at the awning above him. He gripped his right arm with his left hand around his back. “You look... pretty.”

Isabella's humor didn't fade as she chuckled again, waving to her father and slipping out the door. “You don't have to tell me that, Phi.” She exaggerated the last word.

“But now that I'm doing it, I'm used to the idea.” Phineas prodded her stomach lightly. “Phi, is, for the record, horrendous. Never say that again.”

“Getting used to it? Calling me pretty, I mean?” Isabella raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I spent all night looking at the wall and practicing.” Phineas grinned. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. “I'm, uh, joking. That would be weird. So... Did you tell your dad about last night?”

“C'mon, Phineas. I can't burden him with my issues.” Isabella grabbed Phineas' hand as the two walked off of her porch.

“He's your dad. That's, like, one of his jobs, right?” Phineas scratched his chin. “My dad listens to my problems.”

“And where does that get you, exactly?”

“He says something like 'Well, lad, ya just got to get out there and banger their mash!'” Phineas' impression of his father wasn't exactly spot-on. “Nonetheless, it feels better to have someone listen to you.”

“You're right about that much.” Isabella leaned under Phineas' arm as they passed by the Flynn-Fletcher residence. Jeremy's car was out front, an unusual occurrence for the early morning. “I was thinking I could drag you along to a Fireside Girls activity, for maximum embarrassment.” She slyly grinned at him.

“Why would that be embarrassing? Your troop is awesome.” Phineas flatly responded. Isabella's face fell.

“At least pretend that I'm in some sort of control.” She huffed. “You're totally carting our equipment around for the day.”

“See, now that's displeasing. Carting equipment.” He chuckled. “Paying for Ferb's sins already.”

The two turned to the Flynn-Fletcher house as a gut-wrenching scream came from Candace's window. Phineas immediately let go of Isabella and hopped on top of fence, clambering up the side of the house to Candace's aid.

Isabella was taken aback. She didn't know he could climb that fast.

Phineas opened the window and slipped through. “What's going on? Is it the shadows? Flint?”

“Just me.” Jeremy frowned. “I'm freaky now.” He made some jazz hands.

“Nononono.” Candace quickly put her index finger over Jeremy's mouth to shush him. She smiled sweetly at Phineas. “Jeremy just told me he had a plan for us to move in together!”

“A- An idea. Not a plan.” Jeremy backed up, a bit tense. Candace could get like this. “I thought it might be nice to see if we could find a place with a bit of privacy, y'know? Obviously, the honeymoon was cancelled-”

“We should have done something for that.” Phineas noted. He closed the window behind him.

“-It's really no big deal, but I would like to spend some time alone with my wife.” Jeremy accentuated 'wife'. Candace began to faint, but he caught her and put her back on her feet. “She's still doing that.” Candace came to her senses.

Phineas heartily laughed. “Well, gee, I would love to help you two, but I don't really have an eye for living situations. Plus, someone else lost a bet, so I have to spend the day with Ms. Garcia-Shapiro.” He turned around to bump nosefirst into his girlfriend.

“Have to or get to?” Isabella coyly asked. Everybody in the room let out a muffled shriek of surprise.

“How long have you been standing there?” Phineas turned around to face her.

“Isabella!” Candace wrapped a hand around her shoulder and made a waving motion in front of their faces. “You should totally come with! I mean, you have an eye for that kind of stuff, like I do! I can't really get a good opinion out of Jeremy.” Isabella snickered.

Jeremy flustered and hung his head. “She's right.”

Isabella grinned at Phineas as she cocked her head to the side. Phineas had more or less been conditioned by this point: She was going to ask a favor, or she was going to kiss him. “You want to go house-shopping with us, Phin?”

“Gee, I don't know. it just sounds so... domestic.” Phineas muttered. Isabella cocked her head even further to the side. “I mean yes. Yes is what I meant. Grown-up stuff. Phin works good, by the way.”

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz walked into his office, just like the day before. There were already people waiting for him, just like the day before. This time, it was Baljeet Tjinder and Ginger Hirano.

“How do you people just keep entering my office? Was it this easy the whole time? Could I have just waltzed in here and taken over, like, any time?”

“Perhaps.” Baljeet waved dismissively. “But that is irrelevant! What we have here is a report compiled by the Fireside Girls concerning the breach underneath Danville.” He slid a manila folder across the table.

Heinz picked it up and rifled through its contents. “Oh, so that's where the purple people come from?”

“That is how it appears, at the moment.”

“And we know exactly what to do about it!” Ginger slammed her hands down on the table as she beamed. Heinz recoiled slightly in surprise. “We need to stop the flow of resources from here to there!”

Heinz looked over the report. “So you think they're coming here to take... resources?”

“Yessir. While they attacked us, another group focused mostly on looting a nearby supply store, taking some electronic parts.”

Heinz scratched his chin. “Well? What could be the use of that?”

Baljeet frowned and shook his head. “We have no idea. They could be building something, though the nature of the machine is yet to be reasoned.”

“But what could be reasoned,” Ginger interrupted Baljeet. He relaxed in his seat as she took over. “Is that we need to create some kind of anti-purple-people countermeasures, and we know just where to start!”

She rolled out a large blueprint on the table in front of them.

“You want to build a big floating castle?”

Ginger and Baljeet rotated the blueprint 180 degrees.

“Oh! You want to build a dam for the water supply! Of course! There's no way a floating sky-castle would make any sense, I'm glad you cleared that up.”  
Vanessa casually strolled into the room behind Heinz, holding a large stack of papers. “Huh. I guess it's really easy to just... get in here.” She glanced at the two. She turned to face her dad. “I've got a... thing to do today, so I can't be interning for you. Okay, Dad?”

Heinz gave her an undignified look. “Vanessa, honey, you made a commitment!”

“Yeah, to Uncle Roger.” She shot back.

Baljeet interjected. “Who, last I heard, is hiding out in Mount Danville, slowly going insane.”

“Wouldn't that be whom?” Ginger asked.

“No, I am pretty sure I got that right.” Baljeet responded.

Heinz stared at the two with a huff. “Are you done?” He waited a moment before continuing. “Alright, Vanessa. I guess it makes no sense for me to staple you to my side. Just, uh, take a distress-beacon-inator from my things. Just so I feel safe.”

“No problem, Dad.” Vanessa rolled her eyes as she grabbed a thin metal card off of the table, slipping it into her pocket.

The three watched Vanessa leave. “So, about the dam...” Baljeet prodded.

“Oh! Yeah! Sure!” Heinz quickly snapped his fingers. “I was just thinking about a recommendation.”

“For what?”

“For a safety inspector! This isn't your backyard, kids! It's the city's money, and the city's land, regardless of whether or not it's in a big floating paint void or under attack by little purple men.”

“They were normal sized.” Ginger interjected.

“Regardless.” Heinz insisted. He sat down and punched a number into his phone. After a ring, the response tone sounded. “Bridgette? Yes, I was wondering if Milo could assist us this afternoon...”

Ginger tugged on Baljeet's shoulder. “Woah, he wants Murphy along? Isn't that guy the personification of bad luck?”

“On one hand, yes. But on the other? With his help we could make absolutely sure that the dam is absolutely safe!”

“Why don't we just get Phineas and Ferb? They never mess this stuff up!” She exclaimed. Baljeet could sense she was getting frustrated.

“Well, uh, Phineas and Ferb have a tendency to have their inventions disappear. Besides the fact, Isabella has Phineas for the day.” He put his hands up defensively.

Ginger lost her train of thought. “Right! She just texted the girls that she's taking him apartment shopping.”

“A bit... soon for that, I think.” Baljeet nervously huffed.

“No no no, they're helping Candace and Jeremy find a place.” Ginger corrected. “Hey, it's fine by me if I have an excuse to get a little alone time with-”

Buford burst into the room, slamming the door open with tremendous force and startling everyone. “Sorry I'm late, Jeet. Grandma needed her feet massaged.”

Heinz covered the phone. “Good gravy! You want to wake the dead, kid?”

Ginger was as surprised as she was dismayed. Baljeet smiled at his friend and motioned Buford to the seat next to him.

“Ginger, I know what we are doing today!” Baljeet proudly announced.

* * *

Flint and Suzanne had been having a strange morning. Suzanne was showering while Flint had been cooking breakfast (Another very rough serving of eggs and some decent coffee,) when a sudden red sparking appeared near the couch. It flickered, illuminating the gray, concrete walls in dull red light. “Suze? Suze, get in here!” Flint called out, startled.

“What? Did you finish the sandwiches?” Suzanne asked, annoyed. A towel was wrapped around her body. Her hair was still wet from the shower. “Oh, geez. What is it now?”

“I don't know!” Flint motioned frantically towards the red flicker. “And frankly, I'm not sure why I thought you would!”

“Well, it kinda looks...” Suzanne squinted her eyes and tilted her head. “Like a micro-portal. Like the one you and Twoofenshmirtz use. But red.”

“It makes the brain default to fear, or violence, doesn't it?” Flint rested his chin on his fist. He perked up as he turned towards Suzanne. “Do you think we should work on expanding it?”

“Have you ever heard the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat'?” Suzanne asked. Flint stared at her in silence. “Also, yes. Yes we should.” She concluded. Flint's face curled into a grin. He cracked his knuckles.

Suzanne looked on as Flint went through the closet, digging out a prototype dimension-travel-inator that the two had swiped when they left DEI.

“Suzanne, I know what we're gonna do today!” Flint proudly announced.

* * *

Phineas shuddered as he felt a chill run up his spine. He waved it off, concluding that it was probably just butterflies in his stomach. He turned his attention back to Jeremy and Candace.

“This is very nice.” Candace inspected the interior of the first apartment their real estate agent was showing them. Normally, a real estate agent wouldn't be showing apartments to people, but the real estate economy was more than a little rough considering the circumstances. The walls were painted a dull blue, but they were undamaged.

“Bedroom looks alright.” Jeremy had to slightly duck to get under the doorway, having already hit his head on the way into the apartment. “It's a bit small, but it will do.”

Phineas leaned up against a wall, watching as Isabella inspected the furnishings. It was just one room, so what possible critique could she give it?

“When you look at a potential living space, there are a lot of little things to consider.” She bent down to check through some lowered cabinets. “For example, how much storage space are you gonna need?” She looked up at Phineas.

He realized she was expecting an answer. “We, uh- I probably would need more space than the average guy. Parts and stuff.” He looked around the room. Candace was giving the bedroom a once over, so he had time to take in the modest accommodations. There was barely room for the couch in front of the TV, and the breakfast bar was the only thing separating the rest of the living space from the kitchen.

“See?” Isabella stood back up and ran her hand over the breakfast bar. “Not nearly enough room for a person like you. And with the kitchen being so cramped? The oven being so small? Closet having virtually no space? I couldn't get anything done either.”

“Seems like the kinda place for either a loner or a couple of...” Phineas watched the newlyweds leave the bedroom. Candace looked a little gloomy. “Average people? You guys don't like the place?” He questioned.

“Nah. I need more space, and Jeremy needs more headroom.” Candace muttered as Jeremy rubbed a small bruise on his forehead. “In a literal sense.”

“Yeah, this place is no good for us either.” Isabella nonchalantly mused as she led the way out of the apartment. “You know, Phineas, when you hit college, you might be living on your own. You gotta be prepared.” She giggled. It was so nice to be better than him at something on her own terms. Phineas rubbed his chin as he tailed the group. Suddenly, a strange miasma overcame him. The future wasn't something he'd ever given thought.

* * *

“Well, it's pretty clear you didn't give this much thought.” Heinz huffed as he stared down at an empty lake. Indeed, Badbeard Lake had a rough time of it as of late. First the volcanic ash, then the trash, and now its contents had been emptied into an extra-dimensional wormhole.

“We did.” Baljeet grinned. “The torrential rains that have been occurring nightly are more than enough to refill the lake in a matter of days. We have several farmers trying to keep the rain from drowning their crops, as a matter of fact.”

“Oh. Uh, ok.” Heinz rubbed the back of his head. “I guess you did.”

“Hey, fellas! I'm glad you guys brought me along!” Milo waved before he put down the toolbox at the ledge of the cliff they were standing over. Thinking for a moment, he decided to move it back a foot or so. As if on cue, the part of the cliff the box was on collapsed and rolled down the side into the moist sand that usually served as the lake bed. “Tools, check.”

“Come to think of it, 'Jeet, that's just... one set of tools.” Buford frowned.

“And we're just one set of people!” Ginger exclaimed. Baljeet waved dismissively at the two.

“Do not worry. I considered that we do not have access to Phineas and Ferb today, so I went ahead and got some government contractors.” Baljeet matter-of-factly tapped his clipboard with a pen. “They should be arriving right about...”

A large fleet of yellow construction trucks, battered but clearly functional, pulled up to the edge of the lake bed. “Now.” Baljeet slipped his pen into the space between his ear and head.

“So here's where I take issue: Did you use city funding for those contractors? How are they being paid? How can we afford the materials?” Heinz asked.

“You never ask those questions when Phineas and Ferb do something.” Ginger crossed her arms and scowled.

“Well- I just never need to.” Heinz rubbed the back of his head.

“In order? Yes, money, and yes.” Baljeet showed Heinz a page on the stack of paper stuck to the clipboard. “The papers Vanessa got to me earlier were detailed records of the city budget.”

“That's illegal.” Milo cheerily chimed in.

“You are getting hung up on details. Anyways, we moved some money around. A lot of the budget is spent on county fairs, and traveling events. We are floating outside of space and perhaps time. Ergo, there is no reason to be spending money on them.”

“That sounds... Loosely logical.” Doofenshmirtz shrugged.

“Still, bad on you to obtain that data illegally.” Milo chuckled. “So, what did you guys need me for?”

Baljeet put his hands together and faced Milo. “We need you to sit down and stay absolutely still.”

“Uhhh... Well, I wasn't doing anything today.” Milo scratched the back of his neck. He put his backpack out in front of him and sat, cross-legged, on the ground. He unzipped the bag before he was stopped by Baljeet.

“NO! Nothing from your backpack.” He re-zipped Milo's pack, leaving the older boy with a frown. “We need not amplify the chances of chaos. You will act as a component of the job site. Nothing more.”

Milo and Buford rolled their eyes. “I'll help those construction guys, then.” Buford trudged off towards the squad assembled at the lake bed.

He had scarcely reached the bottom when the unaccounted-for Fireside Girls poured out of the trucks. “Hey, Buford! Are you here for community service, too?” Addyson asked.

“Community-?” He put his fist to his forehead. “We're paying you guys!” Buford exclaimed.

“Yeah. It's like a... win-win scenario.” Addyson rolled her wrist, waving off his concerns. “We serve the community, and the community serves us back.”

“Whose idea was that?” Buford peeked behind Addyson into the small group of girls. They all pointed towards her silently. “Very disappointing, Addyson...” Buford scolded.

She was about to protest, but Buford stopped her so he could finish. “...You didn't want ol' Van Stomm in on it.” He elbowed her lightly. The girls grinned. “I'll explain the whole thing to Doof. Not a word from you girls!” He tossed them a set of blueprints. “Let's get to work, then.”

* * *

“Whelp, that's done with.” Flint was decked out in a lab coat and some safety goggles he had stolen. He clasped his gloved hands together as he looked on at the machine he had constructed underneath the portal. The wind, produced from seemingly nowhere, howled around them. “Suzy, pull the lever!” He yelled over the commotion.

Suzanne was positioned next to a switch behind the breakfast bar. She nodded and grabbed the switch, shoving it downwards into the “On” position. The wind blew her blonde hair into her face. She gave Flint a look. “Wait a sec!” She yelled. “Should I be wearing protective gear?!?”

“Heaven knows why you aren't!” He chuckled. “We have no idea what's in there!” His eyes widened as he watched the portal expand. He quickly jumped over the breakfast bar, tackling his partner to the ground and shielding her from any potential impact.

Suddenly, the howling stopped. The two laid still for a moment, hearing only their rapidly beating hearts.

Then, footsteps.

Flint nervously looked over the bar. Suddenly, his head filled with pain. He clutched his head and groaned.

“What's wrong? What could possibly-?” Suzanne was interrupted by her own excursion over the breakfast bar. She followed suit, grabbing her hair and shrieking.

Momentarily, the pain subsided. Flint stood up and glared. His brother glared back at him. “Am I really so disgusting to you that you feel pain upon my appearance?” Ferb's posh accent broke the silence. Flint and Suzanne suddenly remembered that they had forgotten him, too. There were less oddities in their dimension compared to this one after all, and they simply didn't remember it. Flint's mind surged with emotion.

“I-uh, No! I'm actually... Oh my gosh!” Flint smiled warmly at the brother that he didn't know he had. He walked over and stretched his arms out for a hug...

… Before promptly being shoved to the ground. He sprung back up, angrily. “Hey! What's the big idea?!?”

“Are you joking?” The other Ferb angrily kicked Flint's shin. “Leaving me to die? Five years in that... forsaken otherworld? And sending the others to join me?”

“I don't-” Flint was interrupted by a roundhouse to his diaphragm, “-Remember-” a right hook to the jaw, “-You-” and finally, a shove into the bar, over which Flint tumbled backwards. “-You talking this much.” He finished in a crumpled heap.

Suzanne jumped over the table, planting her feet on the Ferb's chest and knocking him back slightly. “Calm down, Ferb! You're rushing to conclusions!”

Ferb's back hit the wall as he processed their actions. He walked slowly into the center of the room. “From what I gather...”

“We didn't even remember that you were missing!” Suzanne finished.

“I am... SO sorry.” Flint mumbled from the floor.

“Suzy, why are you two not killing each other right now?” Ferb looked on as Suzanne helped Flint to his feet. Flint smiled warmly at him as he slowly approached.

“You've missed a lot, big brother! That can wait, though.” Flint wrapped his arms around Ferb's body, embracing him tightly. Ferb hesitantly accepted. “And even if I didn't know it... I missed you.” Flint held Ferb by his shoulders as the two separated.

“Well, now I feel bad.” Ferb scratched the back of his head. “I came here with lethal intent.”

“Join the club.” Suzanne huffed, crossing her arms and leaning up against the breakfast bar. “I chased him here because he destroyed our dimension and now we're...” Ferb looked at the two with faint suspicion. “... a thing.”

Ferb raised an eyebrow. “Well, then what's all this nonsense about destroying theirs?”

“Uhhh...” Suzanne hopped up on the bar and swung her legs back and forth. “Because we have to? Rebuilding our dimension and taking a little off the top for inter-dimensional conquest.”

“Problem. You might be surprised to learn that our dimension is in a similar situation on the other side of that rift.” Ferb pointed at the portal. Flint lit up.

“You mean-? I didn't kill anyone? I didn't kill our family? Suzy's family?”

“Well, I wouldn't wager anyone's dead, but... there's some serious damage. After too long in a rift, the pocket dimension begins to segment. I can't contact our family.” Ferb finished. Suzanne eyed him suspiciously.

“A moment with my colleague, please.” She grabbed Flint and took him aside into another room. She shoved him roughly up against the wall. “What is wrong with you?”

“Wh-what's wrong with you? I just got my brother back! I didn't even know he was gone! I get you being distrustful, but he's family to me!” He whispered, tension in his voice.

“He's a problem is what he is. You still want to conquer the dimension, right? If I remember correctly, he would object to our plan, right? Since he was a point of moral divergence for you.”

Flint looked down, frowning. “I suppose. I'm catching some feelings as we speak.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don't like it. What do you think we should do about it?”

“You know what?” Suzanne let him go. “I'll handle it.” Before Flint could object, she walked around the corner and punched Ferb in the gut.

Ferb had the wind knocked out of him, but nonetheless tried to square up for a fight. Instead, he was thrown right back into the red portal.

“Suze, no-! We can't just-” Flint began, before Suzanne kicked the portal machine, shutting it down. The two were suddenly enveloped by a heavy silence. Flint felt his lips close. He had been saying something, but what?

“Suzanne? How did we get here? What's that machine?”

“I don't know.” Suzy knelt down to inspect the machine, genuinely curious as to what it was. The red spark had disappeared. “I remember a red spark, and then...”

“Nothing.” Flint finished.

“Nothing.” Suzanne kicked the remains of the machine lightly. “Well, if I destroyed this machine, I probably did it for a good reason.”

“Yeah.”

More silence.

“Good eye, Suzy.” Flint lightly clapped. “Really showed that... thing I made.” Suzanne chuckled.

Some silence followed. Suzanne shrugged. “I'm going to take a nap.”

* * *

“Having trouble staying awake?” Candace slapped a wide-eyed Phineas on the back and grinned. Isabella chuckled lightly. Isabella and Jeremy trailed behind them. Jeremy walked up alongside the two.

“Y'know, Phineas, I actually lived alone for the last few years at university. Since Candace ended up at law school, we didn't see each other too often, so I lived modestly.” Jeremy whispered. Candace picked it up nonetheless.

“'Modestly.' You lived in a one room apartment with a mattress, a chair, and a television.” Candace corrected. “I'll never understand men.”

“Hey, I had a little kitchenette! I had to learn to cook and everything.” Jeremy defensively insisted. “Anyways, the moral of the story is that I talked to myself a lot.”

“Moral?”

“Never live alone, Phineas. Get a roommate, at least.”

“Or a wife.” Isabella piped up from behind the three. Candace rolled her eyes. “Hey! It's not like we weren't all thinking it!”

Phineas was visibly shaken. “I- uh, I wasn't.” His mouth was dry. “As a matter of fact, I haven't really thought much about anything to do with the future.”

Candace laughed. “Oh, yeah. Don't worry. I was like that at your age.”

“You absolutely weren't. You were always daydreaming about the future. You described elaborate plans for your future. You named your as of now still fictional children!” Phineas joked. Isabella giggled nervously.

Jeremy whistled. “Boy, we sure are learning a lot about each other today.”

Candace meekly smiled at Jeremy before she glared at her brother. “Hey, buster! I know some of your secrets, too!”

“What secrets?” Phineas asked.

Candace sighed. “Oh, right. You don't have secrets, because you are a perfect man.”

“I- I'm not perfect.” Phineas stammered. “I have all kinds of- identifiable character flaws.”

“Like what?” Candace prodded. She was still examining the room. It looked bigger on the outside.

“F-for one thing, I'm really having trouble handling things as of late.” Phineas fidgeted. “And I kinda thought this was gonna be relaxing and fun, but it's more anxiety-inducing than anything else.”

“I'm with you on this one, buddy.” Jeremy whispered, elbowing Phineas. “I am freaking out a little bit. Didn't realize it would be this hard. I just wanted to live with my-” He paused to prepare to catch Candace should she faint- “wife.”

She glared at him and tapped her foot. “A for effort, Jer-bear.” Her sweet tone carried a hint of sarcasm. Jeremy smiled through a light blush. Candace turned to the real-estate agent and huffed in frustration. “I'm sorry, miss, but this place just looks too small! I'd be all kinds of stir-crazy going from the two-story in the suburbs to this.”

The real-estate agent sighed. “That's alright, honey, but the fact of the matter is that there are no other places in town that are bigger than this. The land grab after the... incomprehensible dimension-traveling was fast.”

Candace let out a defeated sigh. “Then there's no place in Danville that we could actually live together, then.”

Phineas thought for a moment. His eyes suddenly lit up. “No place... in Danville! In!” He grabbed Isabella by the shoulders. “How long was your hike down the side of Danville? Is it flat or deep?”

“Uh, deep. Pretty deep. Maybe a half-mile.” Isabella responded.

“Would either of you object to...” Phineas waved some jazz hands to accentuate the idea, “...Living underground?”

“No. No, no, no.” Candace immediately grabbed his lips and snapped them shut. Jeremy nudged her on the shoulder.  
“C'mon, Candace. We would have all the room we need, right?” He argued. “As unfortunate as it is, I think we're going to need a compromise here. Besides, I kinda like living uncomplicated.”

Isabella rolled her eyes. “You can't be serious, Phineas. A total and complete lack of natural light? That's gonna result in vitamin D deficiencies AND it'll look garish.”

“Well, gee.” Phineas rubbed the back of his head. “What about using the temporary shelter we built next to our house?”

“It's already occupied, Phineas! I'm not moving out of my family's house and into... another family's house!” Candace exclaimed.

“I think you're on the right track, though, Phin. Candace, Phineas and Ferb can make practically anything happen. What's your dream home?” Isabella grinned. “Phineas could do all the architect stuff and I could make sure he doesn't screw up the interior.”

“Now that you mention it... I do have some ideas. Dream stuff, like from when I was younger.” Candace began rubbing her chin. Jeremy gulped.

“Dream stuff, huh..?” Phineas rubbed his chin.

* * *

“I have some ideas.” Ginger examined the worksite from a distance, where the Fireside Girls with the assistance of Buford had made some significant headway into the construction of the dam. She tugged on Baljeet's sleeve to get his attention. Baljeet acknowledged her with a grunt. He was currently focused on the blueprints. “We could move some of that dirt at the base of the lake to the base of the mountain. It would help heal the soil and it would deepen our well, should anything happen to the rain.”

“Good idea.” Baljeet looked over at that location, where she was pointing. He made a few 'X' marks on the blueprints with his red marker. He rolled up the prints and slid down into the crevice, dusting off his jeans as he hit the ground. This left Ginger alone with Milo. Ginger sighed.

“Whatcha sad about?” Milo asked.

“It's nothing, really.”

“Oh.” Milo glanced around. “Okay.” He began whistling idly.

A few seconds of whistling passed.

“It's just that Baljeet doesn't seem to be paying attention to me at ALL today!” Her face contorted in frustration. “Normally he's all cute and flustered, but now it's like I'm INVISIBLE!”

“Wow! I can relate.” Milo smiled at her. “Maybe we're back in the alternate Danville where everything doesn't exist.”

“I'm- Excuse me?” She questioned.

“I dropped off the face of the earth for maybe 3 weeks or so, irreparably damaging the timeline and severing my mental and emotional connections with everyone I loved. I'm pretty unlucky, but that kinda took the cake this year.”

“Oh. I had no idea.” Ginger frowned. Maybe she was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“Last year it was the missile crisis.” He absentmindedly continued. The two sat in silence as they were both lost in thought. “But your thing is tough too.” He added, quickly.

“You know what? It happened for Isabella just fine! All I have to do is be direct with him!” She squared her face. “I'm done making a lake out of a puddle!”

“But we're making a dam out of a lake.” Milo murmured. It didn't matter, as Ginger was already gone. He looked up in the sky. Night was once again beginning to fall over Danville. “Is it just me or was this a short day?”

* * *

“Ferb! Ferb!” Phineas yelled out, pacing around his backyard. Isabella leaned up against the side of the fence. “Gee, I haven't seen him all day.”

“Intentionally.” Isabella added.

“Yeah,” Phineas grunted, “but now I need him, and he's made a day of being somewhere else. Which, of course, I can't blame him for.”

“You and I can build a house just fine! Better, even!”

Phineas huffed. “Watch what you say about my brother, Isabella.”

“Woah. What's with the defensiveness?” Isabella prodded.

“It's just-” Phineas flustered. “Between you and all this work I really... feel bad.”

“I make you feel bad?” Isabella's face drooped.

“Oh, no. You make me feel great.” All smiles. “That's kinda it. I've really been neglecting Ferb, 'the brother'. Ferb 'the inventor' and I are constantly in contact, but it feels like it's been a bit since we were just... brothers.”

“Typical Phineas. Overthinking it.” Isabella playfully shoved his shoulder. Phineas fell over in surprise. “You and Ferb are always gonna be brothers. You and I are always gonna be...” Now it was Isabella's turn to fluster. “A- a- different... kind of relationship.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“The point is that spending a week saving the kingdom and wooing the damsel isn't gonna fracture your relationship with... the other... prince.”

“So in this metaphor, he's still my brother.” Phineas chuckled.

“And I'm still a damsel. What's your meaning?” Isabella flatly responded. The two burst out laughing. “Besides, he's probably wooing a damsel of his own.” She leaned over Phineas, who was now simply relaxing on the grass.

“Vanessa's more the type to save herself.” Phineas countered.

“I never once said 'in distress'. Am I in distress?” Isabella touched her nose to his. Her tone was serious, but he could tell she was joking.

“Eh... emotional distress?” Isabella's brow furrowed.

“You might be in distress in a second, buddy.”

Phineas eye's widened as he quickly backpedaled. “And that makes two of us, uh, you know?”

“Oh, yeah. An inferiority complex and a careless future. Just the two of us.” She pecked him lightly on the cheek and began to straighten herself up. Phineas grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back down, briefly kissing her on the lips.

He got up off the ground, pulling her up with him. “Hey, if both you guys stay in my future, that'd be enough for me.”

“I'm glad you're not perfect after all, Phineas Flynn. It was so much harder to keep up with.” She strolled over to the side of the house and ran her finger over the wall. “Hey, remember when this conversation was about building a house?”

“See, Ferb and I would have had it done by now.” Phineas chuckled as he pulled out a notepad with Candace's specifications. “And I've got good news for us on the property front, Isa. No need to buy land.”

“What, are we building it back here?”

“How much do you know about...” Phineas pulled a notebook out of his back pocket, tapping it with a pencil. “Pocket dimensions?”

* * *

Baljeet was diligently checking the dam for any sign of structural damage on scaffolding when he glanced back at the edge of the worksite, only to see Ginger storming towards him on foot. It was some distance away, and Baljeet put his hand above his eyes to block the glare from the sun.

He glanced up and realized the sun had just gone down. “Huh. That seemed like a shorter day than most.” The rain began to pour down, lightly, over the dam. He looked down at the base of the structure, where some industrial equipment was parked. Suddenly, the rain was not so light. Torrents began to form puddles at the base of the lake. The Distant drone of the dome alarm indicated that it was raising, as portal storms were about to begin.

“Oh, no!” Baljeet suddenly realized what was about to happen. He looked up at Buford and the rest of the girls, who were nearly finished with their work. “Everybody, get down! We are about to drown in irony!”

He slid down the pipes holding up the scaffolding and hit the ground with a stumbling jog. Ginger, seemingly unfazed by the flash flood happening around her, grabbed Baljeet by the shoulders.

“Baljeet, I'm tired of you ignoring me!”

“Ginger! We have to get to safety! The lake will be flooded in minutes and we have to get to the shore!”

“There it is again!” She rolled her eyes, which were now, come to think of it, practically blinded by the rain.

“I- I do not really know what is going on with you, but we have to get to safety first! It is a flash flood!” Baljeet watched as Buford and the girls sprinted towards the shore. Buford gave Baljeet a questioning glance as he passed by, but quickly disappeared off into the distance.

“No, I'm tired of bottling up my feelings, and acting coy, and pretending like we aren't a thing!” Ginger had to practically scream over the rain. Suddenly she fell silent, finally taking stock of the danger they were in. “Oh, jeez.”

“Uh, yeah.” Baljeet yelled over the storm. He grabbed her hand and quickly began to run to the shore, pulling her along. The water was about at their knees now, and there was some distance to cover.

“Well now I feel silly.” Ginger muttered to herself. It was drowned out by the rain. The equipment, unfortunately, would be swallowed by the cold lake, but nobody seemed to be paying much attention at the moment. The water was up to their hips now, and the two struggled against the waves in the lake. The shore was a bit of a ways away.

Buford, back at the shore, could tell the two were in trouble. “Baljeet and Ginger are gonna get stuck out there if we don't do anything!”

“Buford, here!” Gretchen handed Buford a life preserver from out of a surprised Milo's backpack. The girls tied their sashes together and lashed it to the end of the preserver. Buford waved at Baljeet and Ginger, who were now paddling to stay above water. Baljeet gasped for air as the rainwater overtook his nose and mouth. Grabbing on to the edge, he pulled himself up.

Ginger didn't.

Baljeet sighed internally, gasping for air before he dove back underneath the waves to feel around for Ginger. Finding her hand and firmly grasping it, he managed to pull her up, over him, on to the preserver. Both sighed relief. Buford and the girls began reeling them in.

Ginger coughed out a bit of water. “Thanks, Jeet. I've never been a great swimmer.”

Baljeet let out a exhausted sigh. “Neither have I.”

Buford picked the two up off the life preserver as it washed ashore. “You fellas had me worried there.”

Heinz walked out of the forest and back onto the beach, zipping up his pants. He glanced around at the huddled group of kids on the shoreline. “What did I miss?”

* * *

Phineas grunted in frustration as he noticed the rain falling down on his pocket dimension gateway. “Shoot, and I was just about done with...” He stepped back. Isabella quickly set up an umbrella she had leaned up against the fence. “The exterior.”

“Hey, Phineas?” Isabella stared at the contraption. It had the appearance of a regular doorway, but it was simply stood up in the backyard. “What gave you the idea for all this pocket dimension stuff, anyways?”

“You know how Flint wrecked his home dimension and that's why he wants to get at our 'dimensional-energy'?” Phineas finger-quoted. He wasn't sure such a thing really existed. “I was thinking about how energy works. Energy doesn't get created or destroyed so much as it just gets.... transferred.”

Isabella smugly grinned. “Are you telling me that even after all the stuff he's done to you, you still want to help him get back home?”

“Well, it's not really for him, so much as it is for the people he's hurt. I mean, jeez, there's another Candace and Jeremy just floating out there in energy form somewhere. I don't care what dimension they're from, I love them, too.”

Isabella hadn't thought about it like that. “I hadn't thought about it like that.” She put her finger to her lower lip as she weighed the possibilities. “That's... good of you, Phineas. Really good.” She hugged him tightly.

Phineas pushed her face away gently. “Hey, we already did this when we got here! You can't keep distracting me, I've got- WE'VE got a job to do.”

“I was never one for slacking...” Isabella admitted. She looked up in the sky, watching the thunderous portal-storms dump heaps of garbage on the transparent dome that protected them all. She shivered slightly. Phineas noticed, and pulled her back in.

“Alright, maybe we can take this inside, though. You can start doing the interior design on a tablet out in the living room, I'll make cocoa.” He grinned. “I got a stash of peppermint chocolate bars from Christmas, and it makes the best candy-cane cocoa.”

Isabella rolled her eyes. “What kind of person stocks up on seasonal chocolate bars?”

“People that know that they make the best candy-cane cocoa.” Phineas chuckled and slid open the back door, allowing his girlfriend entry. Not that she really ever asked permission.

Candace and Jeremy were already inside, watching a movie. Candace leaned over the back of the couch to face them. “It's raining already, huh? That's weird. Weirder than usual, I mean.”

“It's fine. Phineas says the only work we really have left is the design and building of the interior.”

“What about the exterior?” Candace asked. “I'd kinda like a yellow paint job, brown roofing, like we have.”

“Perfect.” Isabella laughed. “Because the exterior is going to be this house.”

Candace narrowed her eyes. “Elaborate.”

Phineas came downstairs with the candy bars and some cocoa mix. “Basically, your house will be a clone of our house that resides in the same space. That means your compromise is that we have the same window placement and exterior, but the interior is modifiable.”

Candace huffed. “That's a hard set of parameters to work with, Phineas.”

“Hey, what other 21 year-olds own a 2 story house with a basement in the United States?” He countered. Candace slid back into position on the couch.

Jeremy leaned up and watched Phineas start the cocoa. “Yo, are you doing the candy-cane cocoa thing with the chocolate bars?”

“Yes. Yes I am.”

“Sweet.” Jeremy also sunk back into position. He seemed tired.

“Whatever you do, I'm thinking the living room should be a light brown, and a light pink for the master bedroom.” Candace huffed.

“Light pink...” Jeremy mumbled grumpily. He was dozing off. Candace stroked his blonde hair as she lightly lulled him to sleep.

Isabella and Phineas laughed lightly. Phineas handed Isabella a tablet computer with a design program on it and she got to work. “How exactly are we gonna get the furniture for this, Phineas?”

Phineas stared at her. She nodded. “Oh, yeah. You're Phineas, my bad.”

Phineas set a cup of cocoa down on the table, filling the room with a sweet aroma. Isabella inhaled dreamily. “Oh, that does smell nice.” She went to take a sip, but realized it was a bit hot, and as such let it sit.

* * *

“Wow, that dam sure does hold water. Almost to a fault.” Buford commented, soaking wet from the rain. He patted Baljeet and Ginger on their backs. “Nice job on keeping afloat, fellas.” The group had stationed themselves under a large umbrella to

“You didn't see all of it.” Ginger grinned. “Baljeet saved my life! He was so brave!”

“'Sat true, 'Jeet?” Buford laughed heartily. “You a real hero now?”

“Sure, sure.” Baljeet seemed distracted. Buford whistled casually and slipped off to join the girls, leaving Baljeet and Ginger standing alone. Baljeet rubbed the back of his head. Ginger rocked back and forth on her toes.

“So...” Ginger started.

“Yeah...” Baljeet began.

“I shouldn't be expecting you to make all these moves, man. It's just not who you are.” Ginger sighed.

“And, uh, I shouldn't have ignored you today. It's just- you know- you make me nervous. REALLY nervous. Like I'm afraid I'll say or do something stupid.”

The two stood in silence for a bit. Baljeet slapped his forehead. “Oh.”

“I understand, 'Jeet. I'm glad we got this done today, anyways.” She motioned out to the dam, which was successfully blocking the lake water. “But you can be a big dope sometimes.” She joked.

Baljeet laughed nervously. Buford looked on with some pride.

* * *

“Well. This has been an interesting day.” Ferb-164 picked himself up from where he had landed in the remnants of Danville 164. He looked over at his only companion, Perry. He huffed outward as he spun the office chair on the concrete floor of his underground lab. The rift had been tearing in, secluding him from the rest of Danville. He produced two sandwiches from behind his back, waving them at Perry.

He tore into one of the egg and cheese sandwiches he swiped from his brother's lair. It didn't really count as stealing if you need it, he figured. He considered eating the other one, but instead tossed it to an eager Perry. The boy stood up and inspected the rows of parts and objects he had been able to acquire through the shadow army during their nighttime raids. He grinned to himself. “Suzanne kicked me back here when I tried to explain the consequences of our shenanigans.” He explained to Perry, crouching down to pet him. “Well, on the bright side, it seems our Phineas isn't pure evil. Maybe just pure stupid.”

His Perry chattered.

* * *

“Very... nice... door. Phineas.” Candace dryly commented. Phineas rolled his eyes.

“Oh, believe you me, this is the best door that's ever been made.” Phineas snarkily shot back. He flicked a switch to power the device on. “It's a whole other world that contains the perfect living space for you and your new husband, and on top of that...” He knocked on the door. “It's solid oak.”

Isabella excitedly tugged on Candace's skirt. “Oh, and you'll love the inside, too! I kinda had to call a few audibles on the paint and the furniture because, hey, we're still cut off from the wider world, but I think I did a pretty good job!”

“Simmer down, trooper.” Candace chuckled. She dragged Jeremy's arm up from the grass, as he had fallen asleep again. He started awake slowly.

“You still got any cocoa?” He slurred.

“That's not what's important right now.” Candace snapped. In spite of this, Isabella placed a warm mug into Jeremy's hand. He nodded at her thankfully and took a sip. Candace pointed at the door. “Phineas and Fe- I mean, Phineas and Isabella made us a house in this door.”

Jeremy nodded along. This was par for the course with the Flynn-Fletchers, he supposed. Phineas opened the door and lightly shoved the two inside. Candace and Jeremy looked on in astonished awe as they found themselves inside what seemed like Linda and Lawrence's house, but with a new color scheme (Light brown, she had said.), newer furniture, and unbranded, probably Phineas-made appliances. Candace picked Phineas up and spun him around with glee.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou-”

“Hey!” Isabella cut in. Candace dropped Phineas and wrapped Isabella in a bear hug, too. “That's better.” Isabella managed to squeak out from her crushed diaphragm.

As Candace tugged Jeremy along to explore their new living quarters, Phineas put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder and pulled her in. His smile was almost as big as Candace's. “Thanks for dragging me along on this whole thing, Isabella.”

“Th-thanks for coming.” Isabella quickly replied. She really hadn't the time to form a proper response. A slight blush formed on their cheeks. Phineas was clearly lost in thought, looking up at the corner of the ceiling. “Watcha thinkin about, Phin?”

“Eh?” He snapped out of it. A touch of nervousness that appeared on his face quickly hid itself. “I was just thinking... someday, maybe, you and I will have something like this.”

“Isn't that a bit forward for a man who's only been dating a girl for a week?” Isabella grinned.

“Pssh. Remember, I thought we were a thing for, like, three years. I've loved you for all my life. Why would that change now?” Phineas laughed as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“I see some change in you, Phineas. But it's the kind of change I like.” She stared into him for a moment. An awkward silence followed as Phineas considered her words. “I- I should get home. Dad'll be mad if I stay out too late, especially with a boy.” She suddenly realized.

The door creaked open behind them as Ferb, with some hint of nervousness, peeked through to the other side. “Oh. So that's what you've been doing all day.” He dryly commented. Phineas and Isabella could only stand aside as he walked between them and inspected the area. “I see Isabella did the interior.” Isabella nodded as Phineas rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to do. Isabella silently waved a 'goodbye' and walked towards the entrance.

Letting herself out the door, she tried to contain her glee as she waltzed out the backyard gate. She grinned as she admired the night sky. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and Phineas Flynn had never felt more sure of themselves in their whole lives.

* * *

**Next Time:**

**The Dirt!**

**Enter: The Void Siphon! Pinky and Isabella form an odd squadron! Big bugs scare the brothers!**


	15. 15 - The Dirt

**A/N: 15 th chapter not as much of a wait, eh? Shoutouts to Elrax for the proofread, once again.**

**Review Responses:**

**AO3:**

**BlehBlahBluh: Great to see a new reader. I live for witty dialogue.**

**I'm really happy about how well this series seems to be going over. We're in the home stretch, with maybe 5 more chapters to go. Dropping reviews is 100% motivating.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: The Dirt**

* * *

It was another early morning for Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella. Ferb was writing complex mathematical equations on the whiteboard they had rolled out to the backyard. Isabella was leaned over the table, staring out at what looked like a sunrise. “Gosh, early morning is beautiful.” She sipped a mug full of coffee and yawned. Phineas, on the other hand, was drinking his second cup of orange juice for the morning. She glanced up at the boys. “But why did you guys insist on getting me here this early?”

“I've had a breakthrough!” Phineas exclaimed. Ferb glared at him. “We've had a breakthrough.” He motioned to the whiteboard, which Ferb flipped around. The girl stared at the board. It looked like a large emplacement, with a beacon at the top and a series of tubes digging into the ground. “Those are for stability.” Phineas noted.

“What does it do, then?” She asked.

“You know how I was thinking yesterday about the conservation of energy? Well, I came to the conclusion that we could probably reconstruct our dimension by siphoning energy from the portal-storms, hence the name.”

She looked at the top of the whiteboard. “Void Siphon.” She read. “That sounds kinda evil, Phineas.”

“But it's not!” Phineas grinned. He paced in front of the board as he started a rant. “We're only taking the energy we need to reconstruct our dimension. We could even leave the plans for Flint and Suzanne, should they decide to reconstruct their own. And then- once we're home- we could see if this has happened to anyone else! We could reconstruct universes that died natural heat-deaths! Or even use their excess energy as a resource for our planet's energy network! Limitless applications!”

“Granted, we can't let Flint and Suzanne have the plans BEFORE all that. Then they would likely absorb our dimension and kill us all.” Ferb peeked out from behind the whiteboard.

“Ever the pessimist, Ferb.” Phineas dryly responded. He then shrugged an looked at Isabella. “But yeah, he's right. If they're out there it's essential we keep them from building this thing.”

“Well, it's only going to be for today, so what's the issue?” Isabella huffed sarcastically. There was no reason to get worked up.

“Because it's not just gonna take today.” Ferb, from behind the whiteboard, once again chimed in. Phineas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah. Danville is missing some of the key elements that we need to make a laser system tough enough to penetrate into the portal-storms to get the energy, as well as a battery to store that energy.” Phineas took another drink, spitting it out immediately. He set down the hot mug as he realized it was Isabella's. “Eww. How can you drink that?”

“You're the one drinking...” She picked up the carton and inspected the front. “ _ Donald Duck Orange Juice. _ Adults drink coffee all the time. Even almost-adults.” She pointedly stated.

“I'll have you know that orange juice is but one part of a balanced breakfast.” Phineas, still grinning, rolled his eyes. “Anyways, Ferb and I were thinking about taking the portal-jumper into the sun to see if Danville-2 has any Pizzazium Infinionite.” He motioned to what appeared to be a slingshot attached loaded with a long steel cylinder.

Isabella wondered why she had missed that before. Phineas realized he hadn't explained the portal-jumper. Isabella inspected it up and down for a moment. “Oh, so it shields you from the heat of the sun so you can literally fling yourself into the other dimension.”

Phineas smiled. “Exactly. And it has a teleportation device to get us back here when we're done over there.”

“Good idea.” Isabella nodded. “When are we going?”

“It's just Ferb and I. No offense, but the capacity is only 2 people, and I don't want you getting hurt or worse out there.”

Isabella's eyes widened. “That's ridiculous!” She crossed her arms. “You're less safe without me! You've gotta let me come, Phin!”

“We literally have fields of luck particles encircling our bodies. Can't think of anything safer.” Ferb, once again. Isabella's burning stare hit the whiteboard instead. Ferb was hiding behind it. A nervous cough could be heard from behind the whiteboard. “Hey, where's Perry?”

“Oh, I know exactly where he is. He went to work early.” Phineas waved dismissively.

“Work?” Isabella's brow furrowed.

* * *

Heinz Doofenshmirtz was, much like Phineas the day before, was taking a little time to himself to recuperate. And, like Phineas, he meant to spend it with someone he loved. He had hoped to take Vanessa out to eat at the downtown diner, because the two of them had put in what he saw as exceptional work in the past few days. He figured he might let his bodyguard tag along.

Then, Major Monogram walked, in person, into his office. “Dr. Mayor Doofenshmirtz, we need to talk about the current status of the peacekeeping force.”

Heinz let out an elongated sigh as he let his head hang over the back of his office chair. Much like Phineas' plans, they didn't seem to be shaping up exactly how he expected. At least the Major was acknowledging his new title... and his doctorate.

“Haven't we been through this already? Perry the Platypus-” He motioned to his side, where Perry already was, “-Came in to the office even earlier than I did! We open at 8:00AM and he was just already here!” He slumped over the desk, defeated.

“Well, yes, _sir._ ” There was a hint of venom in the Major's voice as his eyes narrowed. “But I was thinking more about the citizens of Danville, and being more proactive about the 'shadow problem'”. Monogram made finger quotes to emphasize. “On the night the defense grid was attacked, there were shadow creatures raiding supply stores and grocers! If they take our food supply, I don't need to spell out what's going to happen.”

“Yeah, everyone can spell riot, Monobrow. It's 4 letters.”

“I doubt you can spell impeachment.” Major Monogram muttered. He dropped a stack of files on the desk. “I had my intern put these together, but it's basically the laws that give OWCA agents the right to enforce martial law when necessary.”

Heinz picked up his pen. “Oh, well that doesn't sound too... Wait. Martial law?”

“Maintaining order, sir. It's okay, because we're the good guys.” The Major shrugged.

“Uh... No. It's not. That would be ridiculous. That would be like me renaming everyone 'Joe' so I could remember their names. A bad law for a good reason is still a bad law.” Heinz countered. The Major raised an eyebrow. Dr. Mayor Doofenshmirtz had a point.

“Very well. We ought to put someone in charge of a task force, at least. Since Phineas and Ferb are taking the leadership roles, we need someone close to them that can adequately coordinate our agents.”

Heinz put the tips of his fingers together as he spun around in his chair, grinning. “Alright, take that sentence. Replace 'agents' with 'troopers'. I've got your gal. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro.” He confidently finished, putting his arms behind his head. She had been such a help getting him elected, after all, and she was a capable leader.

“But... Isn't she a little young to be in charge of a paramilitary operation?” Major Monogram asked.

“Yes. Yes she is.” Heinz put his feet up on his desk and picked up his phone. He turned back to the Major as he began to dial. “In this neck of the world, anyways.” He shrugged.

* * *

Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella had all been standing completely still for the past page or so. Isabella's stare was still burning into the boys' psyches. Ferb blinked uncomfortably. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the tune of the modern-day Lumberzacks classic, “Chop Away at My Heart”. Isabella quickly snatched her phone out of her pocket.

“What? It's catchy.” She put the phone to her ear as she took a breath. “You've got Isabella.”

A raspy, goofy voice could be vaguely heard on the other end of the line. Isabella nodded a few times. “Yeah. Yup. Uh-huh. Sure. See you in 30.” She quickly slipped the phone back into her jean pocket. She tensely walked up to Phineas and put a commanding finger on his chest, narrowing her eyes. “You just got lucky, pal. I'm needed elsewhere right now, but this conversation is not over.”

“I thought it was a staring contest.” The whiteboard seemed to quip, haughtily. Isabella's brow furrowed even harder. She stomped out the gate angrily, slamming it behind her. Phineas was far too nervous to say anything.

Moments after she left, Ferb poked out from behind the whiteboard. “She's cute when she's mad.” He commented.

“She's mad when she's mad.” Phineas sighed, letting his arms slacken. “I don't know, Ferb, is it fair to keep her back here while we go off putting ourselves in danger?”

Ferb shrugged silently. Phineas rolled his eyes. “So much for wise counsel.” It appeared the older brother was done with words, for a while at least. Phineas made the final connection for the slingshot and signaled his sibling. Ferb hopped into the pod, checked the display, and gave Phineas a thumbs-up. Phineas climbed in the pod. As the door closed, Phineas sighed, looking out towards the gate. “Well, I don't like parting on uncertain terms...” He trailed off as Ferb ignited the engine. The cockpit closed with some force, hitting Phineas on the nose.

With a _Boing!,_ the pod rocketed off towards the big portal in the sky.

Phineas turned to his brother. “Hey, what if we don't end up in the other Danville?”

* * *

Flint frowned as he watched the pod disappear into the air through his drone camera. “That's gonna be a pain in the butt to chase after.” He muttered. He turned around in his chair to face his girlfriend, who was punching a hanging bag with furious intensity.

“You're a pain in the butt.” She gave it a swift roundhouse kicked as she huffed outwards angrily. She stepped away from the bag and her breathing began to steady.

The boy had navigated the drone to the whiteboard, and was now viewing the plans that, frankly, Ferb should have remembered to erase. “It looks like we're finally emerging from our little hole.” Flint grinned.

“Thank God. I thought I was gonna have to imagine that dumb Pinhead schmuck's face on this bag for the rest of my life. I'm going to get changed.” Flint eyed her with worry as she slipped into the other room. She poked her head out and winked at him. “And Phin? No peeking.”

“Please. Suzanne. That would be weird.” Flint twiddled his thumbs while he wrote the plans down on a piece of paper. “I'll warm up Dr. D-2's teleporter. Let's hope it doesn't kill us.”

“If he's anything like the original, I wouldn't hedge bets.”

* * *

“Well, it's nice to feel wanted.” Isabella huffed.

“Wow, just opening with that.” Heinz had a calm expression on his face, shoes already on top of the desk. “You've been dating Phineas for, like, 5 days.”

“And what a 5 days!” Isabella practically gushed, clasping her hands together. Then she remembered she was supposed to be mad. “But I'm still mad.”

“Anger is a state of mind.” Doofenshmirtz intelligently put his fingertips together as he tried to adopt an intellectual face.

“Yes. And I am that.” Isabella sharply narrowed her eyes. “But back to the matter at hand.” She produced a notebook from her skirt. “What do you need, Mr. Mayor?”

“Well, the Major here-” He motioned to Major Monogram, who was sitting in a corner texting. The Major waved. “-wants someone to manage the OWCA agents into a sort of 'shadow force'”. He finger-quoted. “It sounds really dumb when I say it aloud but you get the necessity.”

“So you want me to do it?” Isabella lit up. “Sounds like fun!”

“This is serious business, young lady!” Monogram tsked. “We need to defeat these magical nocturnal monsters with our spy agency of sentient animals! Do you not understand the gravity of the assignment?”

Heinz stared at Monogram in the corner for a few seconds before turning back to Isabella and continuing, putting his feet down in the process. “So, when can you get started? I'd like, maybe, you to get a lay of the territory.”

“Well, uh, Mr. Mayor, it's a lot of area to cover, and I don't have Phineas' help today, so I would have to do it myself.” Isabella nervously started.

Doofenshmirtz was dumbfounded. “You're in charge of the Fireside Girls chapter! If the second dimension taught us anything, it was that a bunch of little girls, led by you, could structure a terrorist group if they really felt like it. Delegate. Do your thing!”

“Actually, sir, Candace led the Firestorm Girls.” Isabella corrected.

“Wait, really?” Heinz rubbed his chin. “I could have sworn it was one of you kids.”

“Candace is.. ballpark. She is a Fireside Girl, technically.” Isabella frowned. She would have to gather the girls and make squadrons, organize them into areas of Danville, and... Hey! She had done this before!

Isabella waved goodbye and stepped out the door, whipping out her phone to text the other girls. Perhaps Candace could even join, if she wasn't still honeymooning. “C'mon, Perry! We have some work to do.”

Perry chattered happily as he tailed Isabella. It had been a while since his last good dustup.

* * *

Candace and Isabella stood at the ruins of a supermarket, Pinky the Chihuahua and Perry the Platypus in tow. The other girls had been tasked with surveying other areas with OWCA muscle of their own. “Wow, this place is a mess. Why hasn't anyone rebuilt it?” Candace motioned towards the ruined aisles.

“Do you consider a generic supermarket a community staple, Candace? The farmer's market is actually the food center of Danville, for now.” Isabella thoughtfully stated. “Supply lines cut, staff displaced? these stores are sitting ducks for parts raids.”

“Quit bickering and check it out.” Heinz' voice crackled to life. Isabella had a comlink with a screen on her wrist. Isabella huffed.

“I like the farmer's market.” Candace smiled to herself.

“So, uh, why aren't you spending the day with Jeremy, Candace? Long night?” Isabella mischievously chuckled.

“Why aren't you spending the day with Phineas, Isabella? Long... Point? On his nose?” Candace stuttered as she shot back. The two looked away from each other, silently tried distracting themselves by inspecting what was left of the register area. The shadows, obviously, had no need for paper money, but all the change had been stolen. Perry and Pinky rolled their eyes. Teenagers. Or in Candace's case, teenagers-at-heart.

“Phineas and I got into a little spat this morning. He built a big slingshot into the sun and he wouldn't let me ride it with him.” Isabella angrily pouted. “Thinks it would be 'unsafe'.”

Candace was taken aback. “Duh. It's the sun. Is Phineas still alive?”

“Oh, yeah, the sun is a big portal to another dimension. Whole thing.” Isabella dismissed. Candace shrugged her shoulders. The world no longer made any sort of actual sense, not that it usually did, for her.

“So, what, he wants to protect you in the case that he gets attacked by giant, alien ants? Sounds sweet to me.” Candace grinned.

“Yeah, but I want to protect HIM in the case that WE get attacked by giant, alien ants! That's a pretty basic relationship goal if you ask me.” Isabella huffed. She noticed the creatures had taken the whole safe. “They're probably getting metal to melt down for use in machinery.” She observed.

“Well, that's stupid. Phineas has plenty of metal.”

“The shadow people, Candace.” Isabella rolled her eyes. Perry whistled at the two, directing their attention to a crack in the middle of the one of the tool aisles. The girls gulped nervously. “S-speaking of...”

Perry fished some hooks with ropes out of their supplies, presenting them to Candace and Isabella. He and Pinky attached theirs to the edge, tipped their hats, and promptly began to climb down. Candace and Isabella held the rope for them. A grin formed on Isabella's face.

“So, I told you what was up with Phineas. What's up with 'Jer-bear'?” She sarcastically finished in an infant voice.

“Well, he's a... Lets just say that he never gets tired. So I kind of have the opposite problem.” Candace tried her best to sugarcoat. Isabella's grin turned to genuine concern. “Need a break.”

“Thanks for the vomit-inducing image.” Isabella laughed. “Hopefully Phineas and I-” She clamped her hand over her mouth but the damage was done.

“Good catch. That's my brother you're talking about, sister.” Candace raised an eyebrow at her compatriot. “You know how sweet and innocent he is.”

“All too well. He's like the 50's comic version of a teenage boy. His idea of romance rarely gets past rolling around in fields of flowers. I like that there's no pressure there.” There was a subtle disappointment in her voice and it had Candace snickering. “I'd worry more about Ferb if I were you.”

“Oh, yeah.” Candace's eyes widened. “Is he dating Vanessa? That's been unclear.”

“Yeah, that's weird, right? It's not just me, right?” Isabella shrugged.

“Nah, she's like 4 years older than him. Not a problem, long term.” Candace sighed.

“Yeah, but if it was like, me, dating, say, Jeremy...” Isabella started.

Candace visibly retched. “I see your point.”

“Could you girls put his on mute or something?” Doofenshmirtz muttered through the comlink. Isabella obliged.

“I trust Ferb's judgment, though.” Isabella concluded. Their fascinating discussion came to a close, as the tension in the ropes they were holding completely and suddenly disappeared.

_Shing!_

“Uh oh.”

* * *

“Yeah, it's a little weird. But I trust your judgment.” Phineas concluded. The slingshot to the sun had taken them into a wormhole, and the travel between dimensions was taking a little while. A bright light shone through the end of the hole, and Phineas leaned forward, squinting into it. “Ah. Our destination.”

The pod crashed into soft dirt, the brothers only saved by the G-Diffuser system inside the pod stabilizing the cockpit with gyroscopes. Phineas grinned. “Nice landing. Good job on that system, Ferb.”

Ferb gave his younger brother a thumbs-up. Kicking open the cockpit door, the stabilizer runoff steamed out as the boys tumbled to the ground. The dirt was soft beneath their hands and feet, and they were greeted by massive green stalks that blocked out the sun above. Gleaming light shafts captured dust particles in the air as they broke through the canopy. The two took quick stock of their new surroundings.

“This is a lawn.” Ferb observed.

“Aw, man, is this a universe where we're gonna be really small and everyone else is gonna be really big?”

As if to answer, a giant, sticklike foot poked out of the stalks. Phineas lept into Ferb's arms out of fear. The face of an ant peered through the brush. Ferb unceremoniously dropped his brother. “Alright, maybe we should have brought Isabella.” He dryly commented.

“Uh, Ferb?” Phineas looked up as his fear turned to a smile. “I think Isabella came to us.”

Sure enough, the face of one Isabella-Garcia Shapiro appeared out of the bushes. She came equipped with her standard tanned skin and dark hair, but the war paint was a whole new thing, and her usual skirt was replaced by a t-shirt and torn denim blue jeans. Phineas thought she was as beautiful as ever. Ferb noticed Phineas thinking.

“Perhaps we'll get an answer to an age old question.” Ferb suggested. “Is it cheating?” Phineas glared pins and needles at him as he dropped onto the ground.

“Phineas? Ferb? What are you guys doing out here?” The new Isabella inquired intently. “I left you at the tunnels! And what's with the duds?”

“Oh, we're not your Phineas or your Ferb.”

“M-my Phineas?” She blushed. “Gee, well... if you insist.”

Ferb snickered. Phineas rubbed the back of his head nervously. “No, I mean we're from another dimension. We came here looking for something specific that is impossible to obtain in our Danville. It's a hard to explain situation.”

“Oh.” Isabella quickly recovered. She hopped off the ant and patted its side, sitting it down. “So, was it a mistake to, uh, spill the beans? Are crushes a universal constant?”

Phineas laughed. “Nah. I know a Phineas that used to fight his Isabella.” He thought for a moment. “But then they got together... and we...” He trailed off.

“He probably thinks you're already dating.” Ferb finished. “Thick skull. Not much in the way of emotional intelligence.” He rapped on the side of Phineas' head to solidify the point.

“Hey!” Phineas and the new Isabella sharply huffed. Looking to each other, they began to laugh.

“Alright, let's establish ground rules. The Phineas from Danville-164 calls us Danville-1, a Danville-2 already exists, so you would be... Danville-3.”

“Hold it! What makes you so sure this isn't Danville-1?” The newly christened Isabella-3 questioned.

“Again, too complicated to just explain. The point of our quest is to get some Pizzazium Infinionite. Do you have any?”

Isabella-3 beamed. “Ah! It's pretty common here, as our primary source of power next to hydroelectric.” Phineas and Ferb pumped their fists in sync.

“That was far too easy. Expect this situation to spiral out of control shortly.” Phineas grinned as he and Isabella hopped up on the ant. Ferb held up a finger, stopping the two.

He grabbed a pack off the side of the ant, much to Isabella's chagrin. He searched around for a rope, and wrapped it around a handle on the pod.

Phineas turned to Isabella-3. “Can the ant carry that pod? It's our only way home.” Isabella-3 sighed.

“Ants can carry an incredible amount of weight, new, thick-skulled Phineas.” Isabella-3 rolled her eyes.

The grass rustled, revealing Addyson, who was proudly holding a glowing rock over her head. “Found Pizzazium, chief! And what are Phineas and Ferb doing out here?”

“They're from another dimension, so consider them guests.” Isabella smiled at her comrade. Addyson grunted in acknowledgment as she jumped up onto the ant.

Ferb scrambled up to the ant to join the three. Isabella-3 spurred the creature on with her boots, and the four went on their merry way.

* * *

A dark cave was filled with a sudden burst of white light. Flint and Suzanne fell a few feet out of their portal and tumbled to the ground. Suzanne caught her partner as he lurched forward and set him on his feet. “Thanks, Suze.”

The two looked around. There was really nothing to look at, as the tunnel was pitch-black. “I hope you brought a light this time, Phin.” Flint laughed nervously, searching his pockets,

“Uhh... do you have one?” Flint asked. Suzanne sent a death glare in his general direction, and then produced a flashlight from her satchel. Clicking it on, she shone it directly in Flint's face, causing him to stumble back.

“Yeesh! I get it, I get it!” He held his hands up in protest. The two glanced around the room in surprise. The walls were painted a light pink. There were pieces of furniture strewn about, a bed in the corner, and a dresser up against the wall. Suzanne looked along the wall.

“Don't worry, idiot. In what universe would I ever come to a place like this unprepared?” Suzanne ran her finger across what felt like concrete until she found a switch.

_Click!_

The light switch triggered a lamp hanging from the ceiling, which gave off a warm, sunny glow. The atmosphere of the room was decidedly comfortable. “I guess we ended up...” Suzanne glanced at the dresser. A picture of the Garcia-Shapiro family, and more noticeably, a picture of Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella. “...at my place. Some other mes place.”

Flint glanced at the wall, on which there was a framed landscape painting of the Fireside Girls troop. The uniforms here were less visually appealing, and dirtier to boot. “Suze, when we teleported, we were underground.” He peeked out the door to her room. There were no windows, no people, and no hint of natural light as far as he could see. “I think we still are.”

“Interesting. And we know you and I exist here.” Suzanne noted. Flint frowned, but then began to pace around, thinking. “Whatcha thinkin', Phin?”

“I have a proposition. We pretend to be them.” Flint grinned maliciously. “Pretend they're the enemy, and then swipe the Pizzazium, come home, and leave the nerds stranded. By the time they figure out we're the real aggressors, we're long gone.”

Suzanne laughed heartily. She slapped him on the back as she pulled him in by his shoulder. “Ha! That's so stupid it might just work!”

The two stepped out into the hall. There was a sign on the door, labeled “I. Garcia-Shapiro”. The hallway was lined with doors, each labeled for the people allocated to the living space. Above, wide pipes seemed to create a tunneling network. A warm artificial light created a sense of homeyness. Next to Isabella's door was a door for Joseph and Vivian, and across the hall...

“Phineas and Ferb Flynn-Fletcher.” Flint read aloud. “Any chance they're here?”

“Easy to find out.” Suzanne pushed Flint aside and rapped on the door. After a few seconds with no answer, she crossed her arms and shrugged. “Well, I guess we'll have to do some exploring.”

“I was kinda hoping we would get to. After all, we've only seen Danvilles that are super close to ours in terms of societal structure.”

“Yeah, I bet a fella like you is already top dog around here, Flynn.” Suzanne smiled. She grabbed two granola bars from out of he satchel. Tossing one to Flint, she began to unwrap her own. “I, uh, wasn't sure we would have food to eat when we got here, but it's safe to say they must at least have that.”

“Thanks.” Flint took a bite of his. Its texture was kinda rough, and didn't seem storebought. “Did you bake these?” He waved it in front of his face curiously.

“To be honest? I'm jealous that the other Isabella can cook.” She muttered. “So when we took all those rations from the supermarket I figured it would be as good a time as any to learn.”

They didn't taste very good. “Yeah. Hey, I think it's nice. With home cooking I think it's the thought that counts, you know?” Flint smiled warmly.

“Yeah.” Suzanne tried her best to hide a tiny blush. There was a dumb charm to him that she began to notice only after they had gotten together, and she could only assume that's what versions of her liked about versions of him. “You're a moron to be sure, but a lovable one. I'm glad, uh, recent events have kinda forced us together.”

“Me, too. I like that I have somebody else to trust, now.” Flint grabbed her hand before she could object as they walked down the hall, taking note of the layout.

Suzanne couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps she had already done something unworthy of his trust.

Their jaunt was quickly interrupted by two teenagers shooting out of the pipes above, one after the other. Phineas-164 and Suzanne-164 were face to face with Phineas-3 and Ferb-3.

Flint, sensing opportunity, knelt down and offered his hand to the boys. Grabbing both and pulling them up, he stumbled back a bit only to be pushed lightly back into place by Suzanne.

Phineas-3 eyed the two. “You're like me!” He suddenly beamed. “And you must be Isabella!”

Ferb, too, seemed unsurprised. Suzy cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “You're taking this awfully well, other Phineas.”

“Well, the funny thing is, Isabella just radioed- I mean, MY Isabella, just radioed in telling us she found a pair of dimension-travelers herself!”

Flint's eyes widened. “That's bad.” He grabbed Phineas-3 by the shoulders and shoved him up against the wall. “You have no idea what kind of trouble she's in! Those two are looking to get Pizzazium Infinionite to power a machine of terrible inter-dimensional destruction!”

The two newcomers slunk back suddenly. Phineas-3 frowned. “Gee, is it possible for another me to be a bad guy? Neither of us would ever hurt Isa!” He scratched the back of his head.

Suzanne put a hand on her hip as she turned Ferb around, starting him lightly down the hall. “Believe me, we had a hard time with it, too. We ought to be ready for them to try anything. Where's the entrance to this place?”

Phineas and Ferb-3 gave each other a nervous glance before heading down the hall in a hurry. Phineas-3 motioned back to the two travelers. “C'mon! This way!”

Flint and Suzanne quickly came up to pace as the brothers led them down the concrete tunnel.

* * *

“Pinky!” Isabella yelled out into the blackness.

“Perry!” Candace cupped her hands around her mouth.

“Isabella?” Isabella's phone crackled.

The girls had rappelled down into the pitch-black crevice. Something tugged on Candace's skirt. She looked down. It was Perry, and he had his finger to the end of his bill. “Shhh.” It seemed to say. Isabella noticed as well and the two stiffened up.

“I don't have a flashlight.” Candace leaned over and whispered. Isabella rolled her eyes. “Do you have one, Isabella?”

Isabella slickly twirled a flashlight that she had gotten out of her stachel. “Please,” A hint of cockiness crept into her hushed voice. “In what universe would I ever come to a place like this unprepared?”

Not many. Isabella clicked the light on and the two took in their surroundings. The walls were rocky, as expected, but something unexpected was there as well...

“Hey! This is a steel ladder!” Candace exclaimed, before Perry once again shushed her. “Hey, this is a steel ladder!” She exclaimed again, quieter this time.

“Somebody lives here...” Isabella shined her light on the wall as she whipped out her phone and put it under her face. There was a blade that had activated. The agents must have tripped some kind of signal, and it cut the rope. “And they really don't seem like the welcoming type.”

“Huh? What was that? Sorry, I was playing solitaire.” Doofenshmirtz sounded confused. A loud crackle of feedback emitted from the comlink.

Suddenly, there was a noise like metal grating against rock. Isabella sharply turned as the saw reactivated overhead. Her eyes widened. “Candace! Down!” She tackled the other girl to the ground as another saw whizzed over their head. The rope they had tied had also been cut, and, dusting herself off, Isabella realized that the ladder had slid into the wall, rendering it useless.

Perry and Pinky shrugged. The saw had been above their height. _I told you to keep it down,_ Perry's miffed expression seemed to say. He helped Candace to her feet.  
“This is bad.” Candace fearfully looked around the crevice, stating the obvious. Isabella motioned towards her. “Are you kidding? We should stay put and wait for help!”

Isabella had been told one too many times today to stay out of trouble. “Mr. Mayor, send a group to come get us out of here. We're going in.” She solemnly grumbled.

“A-are you sure, kiddo?” Heinz had a hint of uneasiness in his voice. “I mean, if anyone can get through an underground trap dungeon, it's Perry the Platypus. And also you.” He quickly added. “But that seems kinda high-risk for no reason, am I right?”

“No. Not right.” Isabella shut off the communicator and the rest of the group reluctantly followed her down the tunnel. “I have a bad feeling that this might be where Flint and Suzanne have been hiding, and if that's the case we need to deal with them right away.”

“Couldn't we just wait a bit?” Candace inquired. Isabella held out a hand to stop her as she nearly stumbled over a tripwire. Then she faced the older girl with a fiery temper.

“This guy's out to kill your brothers, Candace. MY PHINEAS. They don't deserve to draw breath.” Her voice was suddenly commanding in spite of its low volume.

“O-okay. Just crossed that line pretty fast.” Candace held her hands up defensively, just as an axe passed in front of her palms. “Hey, I dodged that one.” She grinned.

“Candace!” Isabella gasped. “I have an idea!”

“Cool, what?”

“Do you trust me?” Her tone had lost its edge, but she sounded serious.

“Yes. Wait, w-why?”

As if to answer, Isabella shoved Candace forward. Candace narrowly ducked under flamethrowers that sprung from the walls and lit up the cave. She screamed. Poisoned arrows narrowly missed her body. She screamed. She lept just as spikes came from the floor, getting to the end of the hallway. The third scream was ear-piercing.

Perry, Pinky, and Isabella all uncovered their ears. Perry shot Isabella an angry glare, and it was her turn to be defensive. “She has an uncanny ability to not die, if you haven't noticed.”

Perry warily nodded. He still didn't like it. Candace was hugging the door at the end of the hallway. The two were in agreement.

“Good thinking, Isabella.” Heinz piped up. “That's what we in politics like to call 'delegation'.”

Candace, having recovered from all the door traps, was ready to head in, but the keypad on the front of the door indicated that it wasn't going to be so simple.

“Hey, Candace! Try my birthday!” Isabella whispered across the hall. Candace put it in, and clicked the confirm key. An alarm sounded as Candace narrowly stepped out of the way of some wall spikes.

“Isabella!” Candace angrily whispered. “We can't just blindly try combinations here, eventually I'll fail to dodge something, and, besides the fact, I don't like doing it!”

“Okay, okay.” Isabella frowned as she pondered possible combinations. The other three approached the door. Pinky yipped at Isabella. “What's that, boy? Screwdriver? If you say so.” She reached into her satchel and produced a flathead screwdriver, tossing it to her pet chihuahua. Pinky pried the keypad off the wall and shorted two wires together, opening the doors and shutting down the security systems. The ladder came out of its place in the wall, too.

Isabella picked Pinky up and stroked his head. “Awww! Good job, boy!” She nuzzled him closely as the four walked into what was surely Flint and Suzanne's mysterious base of operations.

Doofenshmirtz' image crackled on Isabella's communicator. “Sorry, girls, but whatever's in there is blocking the signal. I'm gonna try...” He fizzled out. Isabella tapped the screen. Candace nervously put her fingers together.

“You think it's safe to go in there? We don't even have our lifeline.”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Isabella defiantly shot back.

* * *

“And here's the power coupler!” Phineas-3 pointed at a large tube in the wall. “Before we had this great generator-” He motioned to the massive metal structure glimmering with a strange green fluid- “The entire underground was mostly uninhabitable. Canines and Felines would level entire cities if we weren't careful to ward them off with chemicals. But, thanks to mine and my brother's work, along with the support of Mayor Doofenshmirtz, we've made Danville the model of the new age society for the rest of the state!”

“Fascinating.” Flint looked over the machine, which appeared to be powering the entire underground area. “And how do you obtain more Pizzazium for the fuel intake?”

“It's a pretty dangerous job, which is why Isabella and the MudSlide Girls are mostly in charge of collection.” Phineas-3 confidently responded. “It's above ground in all kinds of things in this dimension.”

“Speaking of, she'll be back with the impostors very soon.” Ferb-3 muttered.

Phineas-3's fists clenched. “I tried to get a message to her earlier, but she must have left her radio in her room when she went out on patrol.”

Suzanne thought it was uncharacteristic of her to be so unprepared, but chose not to speak up. After all, there were more than subtle differences between Phineas-1, Phineas-3, and her Flint. And God knows there were more than subtle differences between Isabella-1 and her.

“Look out for the Ferb. He can scrap with the best of them.” Suzanne warned.

“Her being the best of them.” Flint chuckled. Suzanne glared at him and slapped him upside the head. She didn't like being reminded of failure.

Ferb-3 grabbed a clear plastic tube full of Pizzazium Infinionite, handing it off to Suzanne, who stowed it in her satchel. Ferb-3 gave her a thumbs-up.

“That's funny. My big brother doesn't have a violent tendency in his body.” Phineas-3 cracked, as the four entered a large, harshly lit room. Flint squinted a bit as he shielded his eyes. There were two large doors labeled “receiving” and four labeled “pens”. There were what were apparently the “MudSlide Girls” in rafters above.

Gretchen cried out from the ceiling. “Phineas! Isabella's back! We're opening the gates!” An alarm sounded overhead as the receiving gates opened, revealing two large ants. On the first, a squad of girls consisting of Ginger, Katie, and Milly. On the second, Isabella, Addyson, and...

Phineas-1 looked down at the floor. Two Phineases, a Ferb, Suzanne, and... Wait, two Phineases?

“You.” Phineas-1 narrowed his eyes at what was surely Flint. He slid off onto the floor and took on a low wrestling stance. “I thought you learned your lesson and left us alone.”

“Hey, hey! You're the ones trying to steal our plans, Flint!” Flint spat. He leaned back towards Phineas-3 and Ferb-3. “Yeah, he went by the name 'Flint' in our universe, as a disguise.”

“That's pretty stupid.” Ferb-3 frowned.

“No it wasn't. It was very clever.” Flint turned his attention back to the boys. “And now they're trying to get one over on your Isabella!”

“That's ridiculous!” Phineas-1 stood up straight. “We would never! We just need some Pizzazium Infinionite for our dimension repair device is all!”

Suzanne narrowed her eyes. “You mean OUR dimension repair device.”

“Guys! Guys!” Isabella-3 groaned with frustration. “Obviously we have no idea which one of you is the bad guy! Do either of you have any evidence to prove your intent?”

“Well, no, but...” Phineas trailed off.

“It's circumstantial, but I think I can make a convincing case.” Suzanne grinned at Phineas-1. “Where's your Isabella, Phin?”

“I- we-” Phineas sputtered. “I had no idea how dangerous it was out here, so I left her at home!”

Isabella-3 rolled her eyes. “Wow. If I know me, I would not be happy with that.”

“Hey, that's not proof!” Phineas-3 objected. “I'm protective of Isabella, too! That's not crazy!”

“Well, she's right. I wouldn't be happy with it.” Isabella-3 chucked. “But that's a point in favor of my Phineas and Ferb being the good guys.”

Phineas-1 rubbed the back of his head. He wished, at this point, that he had brought her. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.

“Suzanne- er, I mean, Isabella! If you're really Isabella Garcia-Shapiro...”

Suzanne tensed.

“...What's your father's first name?”

Suzanne froze. Her father was Jack Johnson, but Isabella's father...

Flint tried to lean over to whisper the name to her, but stopped when Phineas-3 and Ferb-3 narrowed their eyes.

“Got em.” Ferb-1 smirked.

“So what are you gonna do, tough guy? I've already got the Pizzazium Infinionite. We just wanted you stuck here.” Suzanne grinned. “Hit it, Phin!”

Flint shrugged, clicked a button, and the two disappeared in a _blip_!

“Well. We were unprepared for that.” Isabella-3's eyes widened.

“Th-that's really bad. They've got one of the three parts they need to power a machine that will destroy our world and yours!” Phineas' eye twitched as he began to pace.

He grabbed Phineas-3 by the shoulders and shook him. “Why aren't you worried? You should be worried!”

“Relax. You'll figure it out, me.” He glanced around the room at the others, then back at his counterpart. “Can we also use that teleport pod? Lend a hand?”

“Well, uh, we didn't test it with extra-dimensional objects back into ours, so I wouldn't count on it.”

“Hey, and if the time comes that we have to fight this guy together, two triangular heads are better than one.” Phineas-3 grinned. “Ferb, get these guys some Pizzazium while I hook up their power supply!”

* * *

Flint and Suzanne landed back in their laboratory, Pizzazium in tow. “Well, we didn't deal with Pinhead and Skullscraper, we still managed to get the part.”

“So, half-success, eh?” Suzanne grinned. Suddenly, an arm wrapped itself around her neck.

“I wouldn't be so sure.” Isabella smiled maliciously. “Drop it or it's lights out.” She tightened her grip.

Flint was taken aback, but quickly regained his confidence. “Isabella, what do you intend to do here? There's two of us and only one of you!” He tried to pull her off of Suzanne, but was met with a flying kick from Perry the Platypus. He stumbled back, hitting the wall. Pinky latched onto his left foot.

“ACK!” He fell to the ground, shaking his left leg rapidly. Isabella swept Suzanne's legs out from under her, grabbing her satchel and swiftly taking it off her shoulder. She dug out the Pizzazium and grinned as the other girl looked up at her spitefully.

“This looks important.” She tossed it to Perry, who kicked it swiftly out the door.

Flint dove for his freeze ray in spite of the dog attached to his leg. Isabella dodged it narrowly, approaching the door. Candace, who had been glued to the door until this point, flung it open, grabbing Isabella by the arm and yanking her out. Perry and Pinky jumped through just as it closed.

Isabella jumped back at the door, but was held back by Candace. “Woah, there, 'Bella! He's got a freeze ray in there!”

As if to respond, ice suddenly blanketed the rim of the door. “C'mon! Lemme at 'em! I ain't scared!”

Perry and Pinky tackled Isabella to the ground. Isabella sighed as her face fell. “Ugh. You might be right.”

Candace helped the other girl to her feet. “Well, even if we were prepared to fight them, the ice means we can't get into their lair until we find a torch or something. It's best to report back to Doof and sort this out from there.”

“No! I can handle those two myself if I need to! They're not dangerous! I'm dangerous!” She growled.

Candace slapped her across the face. “Get a hold of yourself, almost-woman! There's absolutely nothing worth getting hurt over in there! We got their weird green thingy!” She pointed at the tube

“Fine.” Isabella sullenly climbed the ladder out. “We nabbed the... whatever this is. And if we're lucky they'll stay there so we can arrest them later.”

* * *

“Oh man.” Flint grabbed his hair, “There is no way we can stay here.”

* * *

Phineas and Ferb found themselves in their backyard, one Infinionite tube richer, having succeeded in what they set out to do initially, but still feeling as though they failed. “Gosh, Ferb. If Flint and Suzanne have the plans to our machine, AND the Pizzazium Infinionite-” He slumped in frustration- “And they've got more advanced portal tech, too. Crazy, right? I hardly feel like we're ahead.”

Ferb shrugged sullenly as a bright and cheery Isabella waltzed through the backyard door. Phineas perked up. “Isabella!” He waved at her. “I learned a valuable lesson about not taking you seriously!” He frowned as he failed to meet her grinning gaze. “And, well, I- we messed up pretty bad. Turns out Flint is not only out to get us but he's gonna build our machine first!”

“Oh, I wouldn't be so sure.” Isabella sweetly smiled as she grabbed the tube of liquid that she had swiped from Flint and Suzanne. Phineas' eyes lit up, and promptly dimmed as Isabella lightly tapped him on the forehead with the tube.

Phineas rubbed his head. “Ow.” He got up to inspect the tube. “Y-you mean you caught them and managed to get the goods? How did that happen?”

Isabella chuckled as a tired Candace stumbled in behind her. Perry and Pinky had elected to stay at headquarters. “Well, Phin, it's kind of a long story.”

“This little psycho used me to get past the traps in Flint's secret supermarket base, and then we happened to catch them off guard as they teleported back from wherever they were.” Candace hissed.

“Alright, maybe not that long.” Isabella nervously giggled. “You did TECHNICALLY consent to the whole trap thing.”

“Whatever. I'm going to go to my weird pocket dimension house. Jeremy probably misses me.”

“Wait!” Isabella grabbed Candace's shoulder. “Would you at least let me make it up to you? I still owe these guys food, after all.” Ferb gave a smiling thumbs-up.

Candace and Ferb set up a table outside while Phineas and Isabella went into the kitchen. Phineas looked at the fridge, and inspected the note his mom had left. “Huh. Mom's at bridge at your place, Dad's playing poker at the Johnsons'. We didn't even notice.” He cracked his knuckles.

“All the better. I didn't want to make a lot tonight.” Isabella scanned Phineas kitchen. It was full of food she wasn't really used to working with. “Lots of German food in here, Phineas. Hot dogs sound good?”

“Yeah!” Phineas excitedly grabbed some buns. “Heck, I'll make these myself. Give you the night off!”

“What, you gonna microwave em?” Isabella taunted, bopping Phineas' nose.

“As if!” Phineas poked her in the side before spinning around her and reaching into a lower cabinet. He pulled out a big bag of barbecue pellets. “Every guy knows how to grill.”

Ferb, somewhere outside, coughed nervously.

“We should do carne asada sometime, then.” Isabella got the door for him as he hefted the bag into the backyard, pouring it into the side of the grill.

“Hey, listen.” Phineas motioned to his girlfriend. “I am really sorry for not taking you earlier. I'll be sure to bring you along tomorrow, if you'll have me.”

“On one condition.” Isabella nervously smiled. “You forgive me for being mad?”

Phineas grinned furiously. “Deal.” He chuckled.

A few minutes later, the sizzle of the grill and a tasty smell filled the backyard. Candace, now joined by her husband, looked up at the sky. Sunset was starting, and it would be a few minutes before the storm began and the defense grid went up. Ferb finished setting the table, Phineas brought a plate of weenies over to the gang, and Isabella sat down across from Candace and Jeremy.

Phineas took a seat next to Isabella and, without even thinking, wrapped his hand around hers on the bench. “Ya like mustard?” Phineas asked, absentmindedly. Isabella glanced over at his slightly overdone dog. “I like all the fixin's.” He sheepishly grinned. Isabella tittered, barely stifling a laugh.

“What's funny about that?” Jeremy asked.

“Ah, I was just thinking about it.” Isabella put her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “For all our growing up, we're still kids at the end of the day.”

Phineas and Ferb glanced indignantly at her. Phineas lightly patted his chin with a napkin. There was still mustard on his upper lip.

“So...” Candace swallowed a bite. “Happy where you are then, Isabella?”

“Yes.” She lightly kissed Phineas on the cheek, eliciting a blush from him and suppressed laughter from the rest of the table. “Yes, I am.”

* * *

**A/N: That's it for this one! A bit on the shorter side, but I really liked giving Isabella and Phineas a bit of conflict. Doof and Isa's dynamic is super fun to write.**

**Next Time:**

**Space Adventure XIV: The Glorbulon Conspiracy**

**Boys and girls in fictional worlds! Heinz goes ghost hunting!**


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